


The West Through the Dragon's Eyes

by FaeCourtier



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Wild West, Wild West AU, and some OCs to help along plot, it's a gunslinger paranormal gay hodgepodge of a story, some alcohol some smoking and some bloody injuries, with a side helping of creative liberty for how some things will work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2018-11-13 17:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 37,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11190027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeCourtier/pseuds/FaeCourtier
Summary: Jesse McCree expects to have some nice quiet time at home while the Deadlock Gang is lying low, but destiny says otherwise when a specter on a quest shows up.His new acquaintance isn't what he seems, and Jesse soon finds himself in over his head.





	1. Home is Where the Heart is

The heat bore down on Jesse. The sun hung domineeringly overhead. The dry air of the plains and dust kicked up by his horse on the worn path managed to work past the kerchief over his face that he’d wetted with the lingering contents of his canteen. The back of one of his colleagues swayed back and forth in front of him atop his own horse, as it had been doing for the past hours. Jesse didn’t have anything against a long, good ride. There was something calming in the quiet time they got compared to the action of the past couple months. But it didn’t compare to the pleasure of passing the first farm on their way into town.  


They walked their horses forward into the center street, where Rob, in front, and Marty, who’d ridden behind Jesse, stopped in front of the saloon. The men sitting out on the porch eyed the trio and murmured to each other as the two roped their horses to the posts out front. The homecoming of Deadlock members was worthy gossip. Hitchville was a decent size as far as frontier towns went, but it didn’t lose the close-knit feel. When Rob and, soon after, Jesse, had started going off for months without explanation, it wasn’t hard to guess what they were up to. There had been mixed reactions. Gang members in town meant potential trouble in town. But it also meant potential protection. In the end, no one had the guts to confront them about it anyway. As long as they kept their business out of town, the situation balanced out. 

But even as they came home, there weren’t many dirty looks flying around the street. Jesse was certainly a charmer, and in a small town, it was refreshing to see old faces come back down the street. 

“Y’sure y’ain’t coming, Jesse?” Marty called back. He was only visiting with Rob to spend his time off here because he didn’t have a home. But knowing Hitchville residents, they wouldn’t give him trouble either. 

“Yeah, nah. If my mama hears I spent a second longer away from ‘er than I could’ve, I’ll be in for it,” Jesse responded after bringing his kerchief down. 

“Still a mama’s boy?” Rob looked up at him, squinting in the sun to do so.

“Always,” Jesse grinned, tipping his hat to them. He pulled his reins and started back down the street. 

*********************************************

The McCree ranch was at the other end of town. It meant being closer to the biggest lake in the area and having better soil, but it meant that much farther to travel on one’s way back home.  
At the gateway into the yard he hopped down and lead his horse toward the side to the stables. A shape appeared in the front door and an older woman stepped out onto the porch. She put her hands on her hips.

“Bought a new horse?” she asked. The tone didn’t give off much testiness, but Jesse knew better. 

“Somethin’ like that,” he responded.

“Jesse James McCree, you do NOT bring stolen animals to this home. I outta make you sleep outside with it. You probably smell bad anyway, all that running around with your thief friends.”

“Aw, Mama, you wouldn’t make me do that. I clean up real nice.”

She didn’t respond and turned on her heel back into the house. It wasn’t an ideal homecoming reaction, but he knew she’d warm up as always once it sank in that he was back. Jesse led his horse into the stables behind the house. As he hung up the saddle and blanket, smaller feet raced across the backyard grass. 

“Jesse!” Nina cried. He reacted just quick enough to catch her as she ran right into him with open arms. 

“Hey, been a bit. How’s it going on the ranch?”

“Good! Am I taller?”

“Ehh, I don’t think so. It’s only been a couple months,” he measured the top of her head and held it steady to his chest. That wasn’t the answer she wanted.

“I’m gonna be taller than you when I’m older,” she said, determined.

“You can try,” he said, turning back to the reins to hang them up.

“What’s this one’s name?” Nina asked, attention now on the new horse.

“Quickspit.”

“That’s a bad name! You can’t name a horse something like that!”

“Why not?”

“Name it Buttercup.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s pretty.”

“M’already used to calling it Quickspit.”

“No!”

“You know what Mama’s makin’ for dinner?”

“I helped make dough for biscuits.”

“Nice.”

*********************************************

Jesse and Nina walked down the dirt road toward their neighbors’ house. The late evening air was cooler on Jesse’s face. He picked his hat off his head to give his damp hair a shake. He’d cooled down at home over a bath and dinner, but the difference of the outside air from what it had been like earlier was still welcome. 

“And last week Maria had her lamb!” Nina said before pausing her walking. Jesse caught up to where she was on the trail before she looked over at him with a satisfied smile, “That’s it. That’s everything that happened while you were gone.” 

“Sounds like y’all were right busy.”

“Yeah,” she stated, holding up the shovel that she’d been carrying, apparently finished with the turn to carry it that she had asked for. He took it and rested it over a shoulder. They headed up the smaller trail that branched off from the road to get to the Schaufel’s house. A knock on the door got a quick response from the old man. 

“Good evenin’,” Jesse started.

“Is indeed. When’d you get back?”

“Just today.”

“Mrs. McCree already puttin’ you to work delivering goods?”

“Some’n like that. Thanks for the borrow,” he smiled, handing the shovel over. 

“Oh, be a lad’n stick that in the side shed for me. And you, young miss, can help Milly pack up some cookies if you’d be so kind. You know how she is with makin’ too many.”

“Yes!” Nina exclaimed, skipping inside to see Mrs. Schaufel. Walking around the other side of the house, Jesse could hear the happy yelling that was typical from Mrs. Schaufel. He set the shovel against the wall of the shed and shut the door up tight. Turning around, just a couple of fences away was the Wellson’s farm. The Schaufel property seemed pretty small compared to the McCree ranch and Wellson farm that it rested between. The Wellson’s had probably the largest farm in the area. They’d had good fortune when they first settled in town a few generations back and kept it up. The moon was beginning to rise up and send light flowing over the fields of plants and…something.

Jesse leaned forward as if to improve his look at it. It had a pale blue glow about it, and seemed about the size of a person. In fact, the way it moved suggested that it was one. But Hitchville wasn’t exactly known for anything outside of the ordinary, so there wasn’t any answer for the glow. He rounded back around the corner of the house and leaned through the door frame. Nina had a small basket of cookies ready to go, but she was chatting happily with her older friend. 

“Hey Mr. Schaufel,” Jesse said to get his attention from one of his own cookies. He walked back over to the door, “There’s something strange outside.”

“Strange?”

“Yeah, in the field,” Jesse backed out to give him space, “Just over—”

It was gone. 

“Where?”

“It…it ain’t there anymore.”

“Not a coyote, was it?”

“Nah, it was blue. Like, misty glowin’ blue,” Jesse tried to describe.

The look that Mr. Schaufel gave him was not one of joking. 

“Don’t pull my leg, Jesse,” he warned in a tone that suggested he didn’t necessarily think Jesse was.

“I’m serious, I saw somethin’ movin’!”

“Hey Milly, let’s get the kids out the door, it’s late,” he called back into the house. Nina obediently headed back out the front door. But Jesse wasn’t going to leave the situation hanging. He leaned an arm up against the doorframe. 

“What was it?”

“Can’t say for sure. Haven’t seen anything myself.”

“…but? Someone has?”

“Last week Lars rode in from Posto. Had a story about some lady in that town seein’ some kinda giant blue snake or lizard or some’n. ‘Pparently she’s claimed seeing peculiar stuff before though, so people weren’t sure what to think.”

“I didn’t see an animal, looked like a person.”

Mr. Schaufel didn’t seem to find the thought very comforting.

“Go on,” he pushed Jesse, “you kids run on home where it’s safe. No more of this creature nonsense.” 

Jesse relented. He tipped his hat before following Nina down the steps. Mr. Schaufel locked the front door up behind them.

“What was that about?” Nina asked when they reached the road.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it,” he said, sending a quick glance behind at Wellson property. There was nothing unusual still. 

Even so, he started regretting leaving Peacekeeper back home. 

*********************************************

It was sometime in the early morning when Jesse woke up. He found his room lit up from outside. By the amount of light that the half-made moon sent inside, it was still a while longer before the sunlight would peak over the horizon. Which meant he didn’t wake up naturally. A hand slipped under his pillow to feel the comforting metal of Peacekeeper. Six bullets in their places, ready to bring justice on whatever the culprit was. 

But as the atmosphere seemed to pause, waiting for another sound to alert Jesse to the perpetrator’s presence, nothing came. The room around him, small and full of memories of a wild childhood, held no suggestion of an unwelcome guest. The McCree house had old flooring, and the stairs leading up to the bedrooms were no exception to the woods tendency to creak. Jesse knew that well from past attempts to sneak out. He lifted his blankets away and gingerly lifted the pair of pants for tomorrow off his bedside table. He settled Peacekeeper into its holster and tucked his nightshirt in where his gun was to ensure no fumbles in a quick draw. He padded silently to the door and into the hall. 

The stairs were less of a challenge now. He was much heavier, but now experienced in methods of staying undetected for survival. The kitchen and living room still held no answers about his wake up. He crept over to a window that lay on the same side of the house as his bedroom. Peeling the curtain slightly aside, he monitored the fenced in areas ahead of him. Nothing was there that shouldn’t have been. No sheep or cattle or horses loose. 

Behind one of the apple trees, something shifted. The branches weren’t moving, helping Jesse to notice the subtle shift in the moon’s light behind them. His sight was a natural talent for picking up minute movements. It kept him alive when things got rough with Deadlock’s exploits, and now it helped him spot the being walking around from behind the tree. They had been tricky to spot, since the calming blue that made them up matched well with the moonlight bathing the Earth. They headed with a graceful stride toward the stable. 

Jesse padded to the front door. Dealing with an unknown threat on the property would be good reason to warrant waking up everyone else. But when Jesse brought up the earlier sighting with his mother, she didn’t have much of a mind to listen. If there was something unnatural around, she’d said, then he could at least not go around talking about it and upsetting it. She then told him to pray hard if he was so worried and hurry to bed. But true to her usual stern talk and mindful heart routine, Jesse noticed her double-checking the doors were locked before heading up the stairs for bed herself. 

But in any case, he wanted to get to this thing as soon as he could. It had a funny way of being somewhere one moment and gone the next. He unlocked the front door and headed out onto the lawn without his boots, planning to sneak up on the poltergeist if possible. 

He slipped inside the door, and there the person was at the other end of the stable. Quickspit and Sunshine slept soundly in their stalls, unperturbed. 

“Hey,” Jesse called out in a low voice, trying to sound unthreatening.

The spirit, already translucent, wavered where it stood, nearly melting away to nothing. Once it recomposed, it turned sharply around to face him.  
Before Jesse stood what appeared to be a young man. He had Asian features and clothing to match. Jesse guessed Japanese to himself, but he was no expert on foreign lands and wasn’t certain. The wispy blue person had long hair tied back, with strands that floated easily with the turn of his head. Jesse had been daring—or stupid—enough to walk closer to the figure as it had reformed, and they stood a couple meters apart. 

His eyes were piercing. They held Jesse’s attention and he found himself blanked out on what to say. 

“Well…uh. Nice to meet ya. Mind…uh, mind givin’ me an idea of what you’ve been doing wandering around these parts?”

“You are no one to be commanding answers from me,” he breathed. It came out in a quiet voice, as if muffled, or distant. 

“Well, yeah, I’ll agree with you there. I don’t mean trouble or nothin’. Just curious. Not exactly normal to see, you know,” he motioned at the young man, “around here.”

He continued to stare Jesse down for a good few seconds before relaxing his stance. 

“…I am looking for my brother.”

“Yer…brother?”

This was an odd situation. Jesse didn’t really know what to make of it, but the whoever in front of him didn’t seem sinister.

“I dunno that Hitchville’s got who yer looking for. Small town and I don’t know any Asians living here.”

The geist turned aside. His features softened in a way that still wasn’t relaxed. It was a downtrodden expression. 

“No…I have not found him here,” he agreed. 

Before Jesse could come up with something else to say, the man turned back around. His presence wavered as it had before, but this time the wispiness of his appearance floated apart and he faded away completely. 

Jesse watched for a short while, and stalked around the ranch, but the blue ghost didn’t return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nina's name is a reference to starscry's McHanzo fic [Four Days](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7509898/chapters/17071531)  
> (it's a fake relationship au, I highly recommend it)
> 
> A lot of the names in this were funny/references/etc.
> 
> I'm not sure how many chapters this will be, at least a few, so please lemme know if you like it!


	2. Who You Gonna Call? Jesse Apparently

Jesse set his hat back atop his head as he stepped out of the general store. It had been a couple weeks since he’d arrived home. He was currently at the next town over, having arrived just as evening began. The sheep wool that the family had sheared while he’d been away had been mostly sold and traded off already, but Jesse had been given the last of it to sell off over in Pecunia. 

With that business done, he untied Quickspit’s reins and headed into the road toward the inn. He paid the pretty young lady helping her father for one night for himself and his horse and brought it around to the stable for a much needed rest. With Quickspit settled down and fed, Jesse headed back down the road to where he knew the saloon was near the way in to town. He could get an actual meal back at the inn, but the idea of a good long drink was the most appealing first choice. 

The wall of posters on a building caught his eye again. Among a few advertisements and warnings, wanted posters hung out for everyone to see. Two of them were Deadlock members, one being Rob. He’d have to warn him about it when he got back. Jesse’s face wasn’t up there, but if there were anyone in the know on rustlers in the region, he was still fair game to be recognized. 

“Gentlemen,” he nodded to the few men sitting out on the front porch of the saloon. He got an “evenin’”, a couple nods, and a drunken grunt in return. A little politeness was always called for when in a not-so-familiar place, but especially so when he had a loaded revolver clearly hanging from his belt. A stranger with a gun put people on edge. But if he had a warm smile too, not so much. He shoved the heavy doors open and they swung out of his way as he entered the building. Smoke and alcohol perfumed the inside. It was fairly full, and talking and laughter only died slightly to give a chance to check out the newcomer before growing again. In one corner a young man tapped away at piano keys. 

“Jesse McCree!” came a loud voice. Jesse tipped his hat back and grinned at Christopher Oxton, all neatly dressed with an apron over everything as he stood behind the counter. He looked the same as ever except for more grey in the U of hair that was left. The candle in his hand that he had just lit further illuminated the shiny baldness on top of his head. Most of the people here were strangers (Jesse didn’t spend long periods here) but Christopher was willing to befriend everyone and tended to remember who he befriended. He motioned Jesse to a spot at the counter once he’d set the candlestick on a shelf behind him. Jesse was happy to oblige. 

“I recall your father favoring whiskey.”

“Nnhn, yessir.”

“Do you take after your father?”

“That’ll do nicely, if you’d be so kind.”

Christopher walked away behind the counter to get it. Jesse took the opportunity to glance behind him. He’d taken to needing to with his off-the-record career. The room was lit up with candles set up around the room, but the sun heading down would soon turn the place darker. Better to note suspicious faces now than later. The room around him suggested innocent good company except for some men at a small table in a corner. They acted as if they hadn’t just been watching him. But he had a quick eye for trouble and had the feeling of eyes on his back once Mr. Oxton had called out his name. 

“So,” said the man himself as he set the glass in front of Jesse, “Hear you’ve been getting yourself into trouble, young sir.”

“Dun’ matter much if I can get myself out of it, too,” he responded cheekily. 

Mr. Oxton gave a stern look. 

“Now why did I move so far to take part in this great western expansion. Surrounded by hardheaded Americans running around and getting themselves hurt. Oh, speaking o’ getting into trouble, bet you’d like to hear about the latest letter I got from my brother.”

“Sure would,” Jesse affirmed. Mr. Oxton always had some sort of story to share. Some better than others, but he was too pleasant a man to not give a few minutes to. 

“So my niece is a piece o’ work. Horse-racing wasn’t enough of a thrill. Saw one of those dirigibles, you know those great big—” he waved his arms in the vague shape of an oval above his head.

“Balloons?”

“Yeah, balloons. Little control room at the bottom. She saw one o’ them one day and decided she wanted to fly one herself. Dressed up as a man and found the right folks to fool. Up she went. Flew the thing herself eventually, landed an’ all. Doesn’t know what’s for her own good, that Lena. Too adventurous. Just like you.”

Jesse chuckled. 

“I’ll keep the story in mind next time I smell trouble.”

That seemed to satisfy Mr. Oxton just barely enough to leave him to his whiskey.

Once the man at the piano had gone through some more songs, and Jesse had his ear talked off about bats in the attic of the large bearded man who sat next to him, his second glass had been emptied. He set the cash on the counter and nodded his goodbye to Mr. Oxton before heading to the door. 

He didn’t want trouble. Especially in the saloon of a man who put up with him. But there were three men in the corner who, if they did know Jesse, might not have known him enough to be weary of crossing him armed. As he crossed the wooden floor, he made eye contact with one. He kept a steady stare and tapped the brim of his hat as a casual greeting. Opening the saloon doors back up, he stepped out into the darkening evening. If they wanted to make a move on him tonight, they certainly had the familiar ground advantage. But he wasn’t going to let them go without knowing he had a deadeye out for people with plans. A little intimidation could be enough to dissuade most bounty hunters. 

**************************************

This time it was easy to know why Jesse woke up in the early morning. Someone was screaming outside. No, two? A woman was making a wailing racket and a man was shouting something to someone. Jesse dressed much quicker—and more fully—this time. He pounded down the inn’s hall and practically jumped into the street. The full moon illuminated the bottom of a nightgown poking out from behind a building in front of him. He raced over to find the crying woman crouching over a man lying unconscious in the dirt. Another man was running over to an older boy bringing out a lantern. 

“What’s goin’ on?” Jesse demanded rather than asked.

“I don’t know,” the woman gasped, “there was something blue and shiny and he just fell and—and I couldn’t see, I was—just coming into the front room—”

A couple other people had gathered to see the commotion. 

“Heck could it’ve been?” one of them wondered. 

“Aw, geez,” Jesse muttered. The man who now had the lantern brought it over to the man in the street. Even without the moonlight, he looked very pale. No blood or bruises were on him. 

“We need to figure the culprit,” stated the man with the lantern to everyone outside. Whether he was someone of local importance, Jesse didn’t know, but he seemed to be taking lead of the situation. 

“I reckon I might know about it,” Jesse sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. They weren’t going to be happy to hear about the disappearing factor. 

“Pa!” said the boy. They all turned and looked at him, then to where he was pointing far down the street. Sure enough, there was the spirit that Jesse had spoken to before. He had seemed to reappear in the street almost in-between buildings. He glanced around as if confused about his own location for a moment before his gaze landed on the group. The woman kneeling on the ground made a sobbing sound.

“Lemme talk to ’im, see what’s up,” Jesse offered, starting toward him. The spirit had already begun to move away from the group. 

“Wait—what in blue blazes are you trynna do? It’s somethin’ of the devil!” said the guy in charge.

“We’ve talked before, I got it. Gimme a minute,” Jesse said without turning around. 

“Hey!” he called out, trying to grab his attention. He went right through the wall of one of the buildings and was out of sight. 

“Dangit,” Jesse muttered, jogging now to catch him before he was gone again. He rushed to the front and looked in a window to see him crossing the large room.

“Hey!” he knocked on the window. He wasn’t sure if it was the mistiness of his body wavering or if he actually sighed enough to sag his shoulders, but the figure looked around to where Jesse had his nose pressed up to the glass. 

“It’s me again. Can we talk?”

The figures face scrunched in unmasked disdain, but he moved with his usual graceful stride over to the window. 

“You wanna explain what just happened?” Jesse asked.

The figure spoke something from the other side, but his voice was already so soft nothing reached Jesse’s ears. 

“Uh, hm,” Jesse stepped back and motioned with a finger for the figure to follow his movement out of the building. After a long pause it gave in.

“Who are you? Why do you insist on disturbing me? Are you with the United States government?” he shot out at Jesse with his memorable accent. He snorted in response. Governments seemed like a silly thing for a ghost to be worried about.

“Hardly. Name’s Jesse. Don’t mean no trouble still, just wonderin’ what was up for you to do whatever you did to that man back there.”

“I did nothing,” he scoffed, “he saw me and fainted like a coward.”

“Oh. ‘s’that it? Really?”

“Do not take me for someone who harms for pleasure, Jesse.”

It shouldn’t have made Jesse’s cheeks warm ever so slightly to hear the ghost of a man in front of him say his name. 

“Well I apologize for misinterpreting the situation,” he said, raising a hand only to remember he’d left his hat at the inn, not needing it with only the moonlight of early morning. He ran his fingers through his hair instead.

An almost rumbly uttering came from above the two. They both glanced up as a large blue…snake, he guessed, that glowed the same way as the man before him slithered down the side of the building from the roof. It spoke in another language that Jesse hadn’t heard before. 

The man spoke something in return. 

“We are done here. We will move on.” 

“Can’t say the folks here’ll be down about that, if I’m being honest. Gave ‘em a bit of a fright tonight.” 

“I do not care what they think.” 

“Still searching for your brother?” 

He gave Jesse a weary look. It was tired, but warning. 

“Good night, Jesse. Or rather good morning. I expect to not see you again.” 

“Aw, sounds like you wanna miss out on some quality company. I’m wounded.” 

The figure of the man disappeared once again, along with the large snake, not giving Jesse the satisfaction of a response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mainly setting up a little more groundwork to get the story going. It'll get there!
> 
> I was originally thinking this wouldn't have many Overwatch characters, but I'm seeing what I can do to slip in a couple more at least! It's fun to imagine how others could fit into this au too.


	3. McCree Wants to Defend the Objective

“Say, you wouldn’t happen to be the one I’m hearing about who sent away those evil spirits last night, would you?”

Jesse turned around in his chair to see a well-dressed middle-aged man walking over with his own coffee and grits from the inn’s kitchen. He pulled out the chair opposite Jesse at the table.

“Wouldn’t say evil necessarily. Grumpy, maybe,” he offered. And sort of cute, if he was being honest about the human one. But he wasn’t about to admit that to anyone for fear of being labelled crazy or seduced by hellish beings. 

Jesse wasn’t surprised that people were going around talking about what had happened the night prior. He thought it was creepy too. Something like these sightings just didn’t have any easily foreseeable explanation. He didn’t like situations that he couldn’t understand. 

“Well either way, sounds like you’ve got some guts.”

“I like to think so.”

“Goodness, where’re my manners? Name’s Philip Cerveau,” he held out a hand that Jesse shook. He continued introducing himself as some professor at somewhere that sounded far away. Jesse couldn’t really be bothered to listen closely before he got to finish his coffee. He had another day’s trip back home today with his business finished, and planned on relaxing before the ride. He stirred the grits in his bowl around. His mom’s were better. With the crackdown on Deadlock activities of late, it’d been more good than bad in Jesse’s opinion. When they got word to lie low for a while, he’d been more than happy to head back home. 

“So, what do you think? It’s three days of travel. I’d compensate you nicely, of course.”

“Oh, uh,” Jesse’s attention shot back to the man before him. He’d only caught parts of what he’d been saying. Science equipment and hauling it home? 

“S’all loaded up, ready to go. Figure get a good start today,” said the Cerveau guy, pointing with a thumb behind him out the front window. The covered wagon sat just outside. 

“Sure you need any help? Seem prepared to me,” Jesse answered, trying to catch up. Behind the cart in the street outside, two of the men from the saloon walked across Jesse’s field of vision through the window. One looked in the direction of the inn, and Jesse inched behind Cerveau more.

“Area’s a little more full o’ crooks than I was thinking. It’d be nice to have someone brave around to,” he made a gun shape with his fingers and pretended to fire, “deal with anything on the way.”

Jesse kept himself from smiling. More crooks around, huh?

“Well, suppose I could lend a hand,” he agreed. 

He finished his breakfast quickly. He’d feel better once he was away from the potential trouble in this town. He got Quickspit saddled up and lead him out onto the street where his new travel companion was waiting.

“Only gonna get hotter, let’s get going,” he said, mounting his horse. 

*********************************

Stars covered the sky as Jesse and the man he was escorting sat by the small fire they’d made. He watched the smoke rise up and disappear. It had been another long day, but he’d stay up a little longer to keep an eye out for anyone. They were almost to Trèana, so Jesse would get to head back home soon. 

He glanced back at the covered wagon while Cerveau was dealing with the empty cans and spoons from dinner. Jesse could very well just rob the man himself. It would’ve been absurdly easy, and considering Cerveau was stupid enough to hire someone who he’d just met, Jesse thought that he almost deserved it. There was something odd about his story anyway. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the man was lying. About what, he wasn’t sure, but his attitude suggested he was hiding something. Either what they were transporting wasn’t boring equipment, or he was being followed specifically. Perhaps he’d stolen whatever it was. That option seemed least likely, judging by the impression he’d given through all of his chatting of the past days. But if so, it hardly seemed a crime to steal it from him?

Jesse settled back and got comfortable for the next while instead. He had been considering it in the back of his mind before they’d gotten far enough from any towns, but he wasn’t going to. It was a relatively easy way to get some fast cash, which was why he’d first joined Deadlock, but there was a nagging feeling he got each time he did perform in a heist. He’d always been one for wanting to get out and adventure, but as a child he hadn’t expected himself to turn out to be a bad guy. There wasn’t much to do about it now. Once you were involved in the Deadlock Gang, it wasn’t easy to leave. If you had some way of getting out of the West altogether, then you had a decent chance of getting away with it as long as you disappeared before anyone caught on. But in his own hometown there was a fellow member. He had considered that a good thing when he first joined a few years ago. Rob had been the one to recommend him to them before they asked him after all, knowing what a good shot he was. But now it meant no escape unless he wanted to run away and never look back from his own kin, and he wasn’t willing to do that. 

So as much as they scolded him for heading down the wrong path, this was the only way to get to see him at all. He felt a little sorry for making them put up with his mistakes. At least with this trip he was on, there were no fellow gang members around. He could return back home in a few days and brag to his mother about doing an honest job. 

Something long and glowing out in the desert caught his attention. It floated along just above the ground, heading in the direction of Trèana. 

“Huh,” he huffed.

“Hm? Don’t see someone, do ya?” Cerveau stopped laying out his blankets for the night and looked around. He mimicked a prairie dog with how nervously he did it. He spotted what Jesse had seen.

“What in the devil…s’that what was back in that other town?”

“Eeyup,” Jesse said as he stood up and stretched. 

He really didn’t have any business with dealing with those beings, whoever they were. And it was moving away from them, so it definitely wasn’t intending trouble for them. But the fact that they’d been crossing paths so much in the past couple of weeks didn’t escape his notice. Judging by the blue man’s remarks, it appeared that they were simply traveling similar courses in the same area, and he wasn’t actually following Jesse. In fact, he recalled him being suspicious of Jesse in their encounter a couple nights back. 

But despite the unnecessity for Jesse to get involved with something that didn’t really have to do with him, he started walked in the direction of the snake. 

“Wa-where are you going? Don’t provoke the thing!” 

“Just gonna get close, see what it’s up to,” Jesse replied.

“Hey, I’m paying you to protect me, not look for trouble!”

“These things don’t seem to be mean. In any case, I can get a whole round in the thing before it so much as looks back at ya,” he reasoned. Except…if it was some sort of ghost, would that work? He didn’t dwell on it. 

He walked in its direction for a couple of minutes before he got within a few meters. 

“Howdy, how’s the night going for ya?” he called out to it. He wasn’t sure whether it even turned to glance at him as it slithered away. Trying to strike up conversation with a snake sounded dumb, if it weren’t for the fact that he had heard it speak in some language before. Now that he had time to get a good look at it, maybe it wasn’t a snake. It had short frills and feelers on it’s head, and even more noticeably horns. A dragon? It looked like some sort of Asian dragon. It was absurdly small compared to the image in Jesse’s head of what a dragon should look like. 

“Just what. Are you doing here?!” came a voice behind him. He jumped. Disregarding the…whatever, for the time being, he looked around to see the glowing man standing up from kneeling. He looked ticked off. 

“Just on my way o’er to Trèana. Guessin’ you’re gonna try to get over there tonight?” 

The man just walked around him and followed after his companion. They started speaking back and forth in their language again. Was he really going to ignore him that fast?

“Hey, so—”

“Why are you following me?” the young man said, whipping back around. 

“I ain’t, I’m doin’ my own business.”

“You are, right this moment, walking directly after me.”

“Oh, I…okay, yeah. I was just curious about your snake friend there. He was slithering by—”

“Dragon. He’s a dragon.”

Okay, that answered that question. 

“Well whatever it is, I saw it and thought you might be around somewhere too. I actually gotta thank you, by the way.”

“Thank me?” he genuinely sounded curious.

“Yup. You got me a job.” 

“So you are after me!” he spat, reverting immediately back to his defensiveness. 

“No no, it doesn’t actually have anything to do with you. Don’t be so full of yourself,” Jesse chided. He gestured behind him to his little camp in the distance, which he was getting a little further from than he’d intended to. “Guy back there heard about me ‘fending off’ you two the other night.”

“You? As if you could do such a thing,” the young man scoffed. 

“Well in any case, he hired me out to protect his travel. So I guess I got you two to thank for that.”

The man stopped walking away and stood his ground. He looked back again at the camp, and stared at Jesse. Dang, this guy had pretty eyes. 

“You’re doing a terrible job, then.”

“What?”

The man raised an eyebrow condescendingly and looked once again at the camp. Jesse turned around to see a group of men on horses riding up to the camp that was still illuminated by the campfire. 

A string of expletives escaped Jesse’s lips as he lunged back toward the man and cargo that he was supposed to be watching over. He ran as fast as he could through the dry night air, pumping his arms back and forth. But as he got closer within shooting range, he realized he still wasn’t going to be able to see these men’s faces from a distance. It was dark out. He didn’t know if any of them were in Deadlock. Killing a fellow member, mistake or not, would mean trouble. 

“Hey! Who do y’all think you’re messin’ with?!” he pulled out Peacekeeper and slowed down to jogging for a cleaner shot. If there were any familiar people, they should recognize his voice. 

The men looked up except for the one currently tying up Mr. Cerveau. A couple of guns were raised at the new defender. 

No one was responding. The guns found their mark in the dark desert. Jesse dropped into a roll to the side as they shot at him. He lifted his own gun back up and hit the two who missed and they fell. Another sweep over the group and the other three went down before they could respond. He ran up to Mr. Cerveau, who was now a blubbering mess of nerves. After he’d been untied and left to cope with himself over the ordeal, Jesse’s eyes scanned over the men on the ground. Good, none of them were familiar. He squatted down next to the closest body. He searched their pockets for a wallet. Living a clean life was a good idea, but there were grey areas. Surely corpses in the desert didn’t need money? 

Jesse was certain that the young man and the dragon were gone. They didn’t like to be kept from their business. Which was odd business. Searching for a brother out in this side of America? Being a ghost forever looking for lost kin sounded like the saddest thing he could think of. How intently they covered ground to search seemed consistent with that story. But even with their few interactions, there was a sort of meaningfulness in the way the man spoke with Jesse. 

He looked back around, and was surprised to see the man still standing where he’d been before. He left Cerveau’s side again to jog back out to meet him. He didn’t move to meet Jesse, but stood in place to let Jesse come to him. Jesse reached back where he’d been, now out of breath. The young man gave him a look that Jesse could tell was concealing a smug smile.

“So…” he started, trying to come up with something to keep his attention, “That was fun.”

He was astonished when the man let out a real, actual, un-concealable snort, and then hid the rest of his laughter behind a hand. If not for the embarrassment Jesse still felt for his on-the-job blunder, he would have been completely proud of himself for getting such a reaction out of this guy. 

“I was going to commend your aim, but I see you are in no need of encouragement of any sort,” he said, getting a hold of himself. 

“Yeah, well. I owe ya again. So thanks, buttercup,” he rubbed his neck sheepishly. 

“Butter cup? What?”

“Oh, uh, you know, buttercups. Like…what is it, a flower?”

“...you don’t even know what you called me?” 

The mystery man was back to his judging self. 

“No, I—I’m pretty dang sure it’s a flower. I’m just trying to give a compliment, okay?” 

The look he got said that the man was not entirely impressed, but at least he hadn’t been upset by what had slipped Jesse’s lips before he could consider the consequences. 

“In any case, it is time I move on. I have spent too long idle.”

“Oh, you don’t wanna stay a bit and chat?”

The man turned and began walking away again.

“Unlike some people, I take my responsibilities seriously.”

Jesse clicked his tongue and held a hand to his heart in mock offense. The more attitude he got from this guy, the more he liked him. There was a playful side to his cockiness. 

“Been runnin’ into each other so much, can I get a name to go with your face?”

The man glanced back wearily, before continuing onward. 

“Go sleep, Jesse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on having more in this chapter, but it would have easily become disproportionately long. So I'll break it here and have it all in the next one. 
> 
>  
> 
> I tell you guys, spell/grammar check is wild when you have so many slang-talkers.


	4. Thomas has a Bad Night

“Hey,” a low voice called out. Jesse turned to his right to see a man standing between buildings. A breath of smoke shot out from under the hat brim covering his face. He stepped back once he caught Jesse’s attention and leaned against the wall. 

Jesse had just seen Cerveau off, now that they’d made it to where he’d been hired to get him to. It was still late morning, and he was planning on heading back out shortly to get back home as soon as possible. But he pulled Quickspit’s reins and rode him closer to the alley entrance before dismounting. 

“Mornin’,” he gave, not sure what else to say. The man lifted his head back up from the pipe he was smoking from. The familiar worn face and scruffy beard identified him immediately. Rojo. Rojo…Camisa? Come to think of it, Jesse didn’t know his first name, only the nickname everyone called him. He was in Deadlock. 

“Fancy seeing you here, McCree,” he mused. “Got business around?”

“Just finished it. How ‘bout yourself? Time off doin’ you good?”

He dragged in another long breath through the pipe before releasing it. 

“It was. Not so much now. Not a bad thing that you rolled into town.”

“My, what’ve I gotten myself into?” Jesse said with a grin. He tried to mask the dislike that was growing for this interaction. He let go of his reins and imitated Rojo’s relaxing against the wall. 

“We got some trouble,” his comrade stated in a low voice, despite the lack of people nearby, “someone’s in town who hasn’t been around. Ain’t staying long, either. He’s after Sanchez.”

Miguel Sanchez was the current leader of the Deadlock Gang. Ruthless and strong-headed, he was the sort of person one could easily imagine being the head of a gang of robbers. When he gave word for everyone to part and lie low, it spoke volumes for just how in trouble they were. He had gotten some sort of slip that officials were going to be making bigger moves against the gang. Sanchez was never one to back down from a fight that he could win. But he was smart enough to know when he couldn’t. 

Jesse had, perhaps, been testing fate a little bit by traveling around while there was such a price and target on his head. He’d been lucky in that regard so far. But his luck had run out to instead be facing the issue that had Deadlock scrambling in this way. 

“Who is this guy? He know where Sanchez is at?”

“Seems to have an idea. Heard this Lacroix guy talking to the sheriff. Stupid bastard keeps his window open. He’s heading out on the train tomorrow morning. Second stop’s where they think he’s around. Gonna try to smoke him out.”

“With one guy?”

“Some people over there waiting for his signal to move, I guess. He’s some special government guy,” the contempt with which he said that was clear. 

“So…” Jesse trailed off, thinking. 

“So you’re stayin’ with me tonight. Guy’s been hanging around the sheriff, it’s risky here. We’ll be able to off him easier on the train.”

“…makes sense to me,” Jesse resigned. He was beginning to think he wouldn’t be making it back home before all of this trouble was over. 

*************************

 

The piercing whistle that came from the head of the train carried easily back to where Jesse and Rojo were situated. The car they were sitting in was full of hay bales and some crates in a corner. They had shoved a few around to make room for their horses that they’d snuck on as quietly as possible. Bribing the horses with carrots and bribing a train station worker with money got them safely on before the final check finished. 

After another minute or so, the train car lurched with the rest it was attached to and they started heading away from Trèana. It was going to be a slow day. The smell of hay and horse was distinct in the air. Rojo’s horse seemed content with the hay, but Quickspit, who Jesse could hear shifting on his hooves, seemed uncomfortable with the movement of the flooring as the train ran. He was a young horse, and wasn’t likely trained except for basic riding. He’d probably settle down in a while. Jesse himself wanted to try to open up a side door a little to get more light in, but they couldn’t risk being noticed so early on. The only glimpse of light came from the top of the car, where a small opening was cracked open. They would climb out of it later to hop cars. So they sat in the darkness of the train car to wait until a better time to track down the man they were following. 

 

*************************

 

Jesse stepped behind his partner as they headed down another sleeping car. Rojo paused at each compartment, looking inside to find the guy they were after. It was slow work, with only a small lantern to help. But now that everyone living normal lives on the train had been asleep for a good while, they could make some progress. 

He should have taken off his spurs before all the snooping, but it was a little late to do that now. He could be fairly quiet with them when he wanted to, anyway. But he could make out his own heartbeat, or at least feel it in his ears. He had snuck around places before, but this situation set his nerves on edge. There wasn’t much space to run. The halls made anyone an easy target. 

Rojo nudged him. He glanced back to Jesse with a subtly proud look, which was more visible thanks to the lantern. Jesse gestured with his head to the room he’d just looked in. 

“That him?” he whispered. Rojo nodded.

“Just him.”

“You said he came on with a soldier though, he somewhere else?”

Rojo stood still, gun at the ready as he thought.

He motioned behind him. 

“The first one by the door. Same side. Check him again. Look for a uniform.”

Jesse turned back and started down to the end of the sleeping car that they’d started on. He was almost to the thin door that led to the potential soldier when the noise of something going into flesh and air leaving lungs happened behind him. He spun back to see the door to their enemy’s room open and Rojo dropping lower with a knife in his gut. 

The man who they had apparently not successfully snuck up on yelled a name, and Jesse flinched back as the door he was in front of opened in a flash. The tall man, who must have been the soldier, jumped out and straight into Jesse. Neither had expected the other’s location. Jesse started to pull himself off the floor when a heavy fist landed across his cheek. A shot rang out from just down the hall. Rojo wasn’t out yet, at least. The bullet must’ve been toward their actual target, because the soldier wasn’t stopped from trying to deal with Jesse. But only one of them had a gun, and Jesse pistol-whipped the soldier upside the head with it. That granted him enough free space to spring away from him clumsily and put two bullets in him. He didn’t get back up. Back in the middle of the hall, Rojo lay flat on his stomach. Lacroix reached the front door of the car, his knife back in his hand from winning the tussle. 

Jesse followed him down the car. He stepped on Rojo’s gun that’d gotten tossed in the fight. He neglected to pick it up in favor of catching up and slammed the door back open. The wind raced around him and below the small platform the train track sped past. He got out just in time to see the man’s foot escape from view on top of the next train car. Jesse was about to follow after him, but hesitated. The man had the high ground. He might’ve planned on Jesse coming after him. If he only had the knife, that would’ve been a perfect opportunity to attack Jesse as he reached the top. He watched between the top of the car and through the porthole into the car itself to try to see him on the other end in case he came back down. Seconds ticked on. 

There was some shouting behind him in the train car. People were waking up. He wanted to check on Rojo, but he couldn’t miss a glimpse. If the man intended to stay high, he would at least need to come back down to cross cars?

And then a shadow passed over the porthole on the far side and Jesse jumped across to the next platform to chase after him. He barreled through the narrow hallway and jumped onto the next cart’s back platform. The man had stayed down below to cover distance faster. Jesse aimed for him but an old man peered out from a bunk and blocked the way. He really didn’t want other people getting involved, so he shoved the man back in as he ran past. His target had already gotten inside the next car as Jesse got to the front. The door slammed behind his target and the man paused long enough to apparently lock it. Jesse crossed over another gap over the tracks and tried the handle. Definitely locked. He stepped back against the little railing and fired a shot at the doorknob. He jiggled it again. Either it hadn’t worked or the man had stuck something heavy behind the door, but he was stuck outside. It was his turn to climb. 

The wind flew past him worse as he climbed over the top of the car. He pushed his hat harder down on his head and started crawling along the top. When he got about halfway, he was close enough to realize that this was the first passenger car in the line. He’d chased the man through the rest of the train. He inched forward faster, not sure what the man was going to try to do next. 

Jesse peered over the side. One of the two men in the steam locomotive’s cab had opened up the door and looked like he was trying to shout below Jesse at, presumably, his target below. 

Over the wind and sound of large train wheels turning, he could hear the man shouting back to blow the whistle. The engineer or fireman or whoever the train worker was declined, and then started to become even more cross when Jesse’s target began climbing up onto the tender to reach the cab. He changed his expression when he caught sight of Jesse on top of the leading passenger car raising up his gun at the climbing man. His scream and slamming the thin cab door shut alerted the man halfway through the coal to Jesse’s presence. He turned around to face him, but Jesse’s foothold slipped and he had to catch himself before he slid off the top of the train. He decided to climb down before shooting his remaining three bullets. 

As he did so the train let out a shrill cry. The workers had apparently changed their mind about obeying the man who was opening the cab to join them. Were there more people on his side, or was he just trying to cause some chaos by waking people up? Jesse climbed on top of the tender himself so he could finish this before he found out. He shot a bullet at the cab as the man ducked behind the door’s metal. He damaged the knob and the door swung back open. The man grabbed the shovel in the cab and blocked another bullet. Jesse wasn’t sure if he was starting to hate this Lacroix guy more or admire him. He was down to his knife and a shovel, and Jesse was down to a gun with one bullet and no time to reload. He needed to make sure that final bullet counted. 

In a desperate attempt to get the job done, he jumped down from the tender to go hand to hand with him. He grabbed a handful of coal and chucked it at him. While Lacroix brought an arm up to shield his face, Jesse tackled him. They fell to the floor and fought messily over the shovel and knife at the same time. Jesse finally managed to gain control of the shovel, and while he had Lacroix’s hand and knife under a boot, smashed a side window open to toss the shovel out. One less item to worry about.

Or so he thought, because it fell a little too close to the locomotive and down to the driving wheels, where it got stuck and made the train lurch. The workers who were backed up in a corner glanced nervously at the controls. The locomotive below them shifted into a different feeling, but kept running without a problem. While the two on the floor kept fighting, one of the workers reached out to start the break system. 

Jesse got his gun back in hand, but in a swift move Lacroix spun him back against the metal door frame and his fingers were smashed against the metal. He hissed in pain and lifted a foot back to kick him in the crotch. That earned him a loosened grip. The spurs were good to keep on after all. With the two back apart, Jesse had an advantage with the gun. Both men fighting seemed to realize it at the same time. Lacroix jumped back out at the tender and swung around to its side away from Jesse. It was a last attempt to get away, but a poor one. It made him an easy target as he climbed away off the side of the train. Jesse could feel the train beginning to slow as the workers tried to stop it. 

He stepped out and brought his gun up for an easy last shot. His fingers were sore from the collision and he switched to his middle finger on the trigger to make it easier. But the man, who Jesse had come to be certain wasn’t a typical government official, knew just when to throw his knife into Jesse’s arm to throw off his aim as he shot. Unluckily for him, it hadn’t been enough. 

The bullet hit him somewhere in the abdomen and he buckled before falling from the train. He unceremoniously rolled to a stop in the sand before he was out of Jesse’s view. 

That wasn’t the cleanest of assassinations. But he was now left with a more likely than not fatal wound, and away from help. He shouldn’t be a danger to Sanchez now, which had been their objective in the first place. He turned back around to eye the two workers who were still watching him with hands on the breaks. They slowly brought them up in surrender. 

“…gentlemen,” Jesse nodded, before turning back around and quickly climbing back over the tender to the first passenger car. With their hiding on the train uncovered, they needed to run. 

As he headed through the car, he felt an even bigger lurch from before and fell onto the floor. There had been a break in the railroad. His initial mistake with the fuel shovel might’ve offset a wheel slightly, but it wasn’t enough to cause much harm to the train by itself. But with the workers slowing the train at a place on the track with a break, it caught on the wheel and lurched more driving wheels askew. And once Jesse was back on his feet, he felt the car lean to just enough degrees to worry about what was happening. He got the back door to the car open and heard the strain of metal as the rest of the cars pushed into the offset locomotive that suddenly didn’t want to move as usual. 

The train was slowing down significantly. This wasn’t good, he needed to get away. Rojo was in one of the cars ahead of him, unless he moved. But with how everything unfolded, and how he’d looked with that knife in his gut, he didn’t have a good chance of making it away. He went ahead and jumped off the car and fell into a roll into the desert ground. He picked himself back up and jogged along the slowing train. The supply car they’d left their horses in was toward the back. He got to it as the train was nearly stopped and easily got back on and inside. 

His horse was reluctant to jump out, but a convincing kick got him back into the open air. Rojo’s horse hadn’t been inside. The other side-door had been left ajar, suggesting he’d headed in the opposite direction. Knowing he’d taken off alleviated some of the guilt of not searching for him. Despite it still being sometime in the night, it was easy enough to see silhouettes of people climbing out of the train to find out what happened. And it was easy enough to see that more than a normal amount had guns. Perhaps there weren’t only people waiting further away for Lacroix’s management. In any case, Jesse turned away from the track and started heading away. He needed to get out of range and out of sight. He tugged his hat down again as he raced off into an area which he suspected he wouldn’t recognize once the morning light revealed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally going to go differently in a way where the train breaking down made more sense. It changed, but the idea of Jesse breaking a train was so dang funny to me that I kept it in.


	5. He's Not Blue Da Ba Dee Da Ba Die

Jesse brought one boot down in front of the other, trudging forward. He felt like he was being cooked by the high noon sun. He’d kill for some clouds today. Or anything to make this journey easier. A map wouldn’t be half bad. 

He’d already covered one whole day of running out into the desert. This was a difficult second. He supposed he couldn’t blame it on bad luck. The train’s route running west didn’t see many resting places, so it was only reasonable that he wasn’t finding any anywhere near the tracks. He couldn’t travel along the tracks for fear of running into the trouble he’d just left behind again, so heading straight out into the wild and moving forward was his next best chance for finding security.

He kept hold on his horse’s reins with his left hand. He’d ridden for a long time, but when his legs began feeling numb he had come down to walk himself for a while. He was in bad enough shape as it was, he didn’t need to lose control over his legs. He brought up his right hand, which had sustained more damage in his fight than he’d originally thought. The adrenaline of the night before last had helped him through the pain at the time. But his forefinger and middle finger were bashed and bruised, with a cut running across both. The cut wasn’t too troubling as long as it didn’t get infected, as with the stab wound in his arm which he’d wrapped with his kerchief. But he wasn’t sure if anything was broken because it hurt too much to check. Just wiping at the blood with his kerchief had been an ordeal. He should’ve had it wrapped up too, but there weren’t any obvious signs of broken bones so he neglected to take more care for the time being. 

What had Jesse most worried was the fact that the finger with the most damage was his trigger finger. He couldn’t do anything with it now, much less fire a shot at danger. It left him with a sinking nervousness in his gut. If he could find some life out here, he would just have to hope it was friendly. 

He squinted back up. It would’ve been smarter to chase after Rojo after the fight, despite his unlikeliness of surviving the gut wound he’d received. At least then Jesse would have claim of the satchel of supplies he’d packed. The contents of Jesse’s saddlebags had quickly emptied after having already been on the road more than expected. He was in bad shape. So was Quickspit, who was in equally bad need of care. He swept over his field of vision once more. No imminent danger, but also no food. He had pulled at the scraggly bushes to see if there was anything he could get from them without luck. Setting up any sort of trap was only viable at night when he wouldn’t be on the move. Far in the distance, he caught something swish. He tried to get a good look at it, but it was too far away. It was like the color of the sky, but seemed to dip just past the horizon line. Then again, the day was hot, and heat trembled off the ground and hazed the distance. Maybe he was just seeing things. But water was his main priority if he wanted to continue on anywhere. So he climbed back up on Quickspit and followed after what would hopefully be a decent stream or river. 

*******************************

He had lost sight of the stream. Maybe he had been seeing things after all. He was pretty sure he’d gone out far enough that he’d be seeing it by now. But on the better side of things, he had the shapes of buildings budding up from the desert in the distance. This was better, because it meant meeting all of his survival needs instead of leaving him stranded, though hydrated, in the desert. The only question was if he would have trouble in this town. If he was recognized, he might not get his survival needs met after all. 

As he rode up to the outermost buildings, he didn’t spot anyone. The quiet desert that shed life off those who traveled it seemed to stretch its silence into the town. He headed between old wooden buildings and found an empty street. He eyed it up and down before arriving on his conclusion: it was a ghost town. 

He’d been in one before. Some time ago with Deadlock they’d come across one and stayed the night. It had been an old town next to a mine that’d been emptied. But there was something different about being in one with other people to give temporary life to it and being all alone. It just felt like he’d wandered into somewhere he didn’t belong. 

But needs came before wants, so his nerves could just shut up for the time being. He found his way to a pump, which after some work did bring up water. Maybe this ghost town wasn’t so bad. He drank and then filled up a trough for Quickspit. After both were filled with more water than is healthy to drink at one time, he started back out to explore the dirt roads and buildings. He put his hat back on his freshly soaked hair. 

It was a decently sized town as far as they generally went out here. He headed through, noting the typical amenities. He also noticed a chicken run under a broken wagon away from him. So there was some other life out here. At least until he found it again later. He stepped up onto the porch of a building to see inside better. Quickspit huffed behind him. He turned to his left to look back, but his sight caught on the man who’d stepped out from behind the building and was currently aiming an arrow at him. 

Jesse raised his hands up in surrender. The man was recognizable by his face and long hair kept in a loose ponytail. But he was no longer an ethereal blue, or see-through. He looked like a normal, living person. And he wasn’t wearing his loose Asian robe, but a button up shirt and pants that one might see on any guy out west. And the longbow that he was aiming at Jesse certainly hadn’t been in the picture before either. 

“You keep finding me,” he stated.

“Sure do…guess that’s fate for ya.”

The young man began slowly lowering his bow. 

“Are you alone?”

“’Cept for Quickspit,” Jesse gestured to his horse with his hands still high. The man glanced over Jesse’s hurt fingers. He placed the arrow back inside the quiver he had slung over a shoulder, deciding Jesse either wasn’t a threat or was too incapacitated to do any real harm. 

“Wouldn’t happen to have some food around, would ya?” Jesse asked. 

“Why are you here? You’re far from where we’ve encountered each other before,” he asked, still suspicious over Jesse’s presence. 

“Took a little train trip. Ended up takin’ kind of a wrong turn. That’s the short version, at least. How ‘bout yourself?”

The man gave Jesse and his horse a once over before nodding to where he’d come from behind the building and walking away. 

“I can provide you food,” he said, skirting the question. Jesse didn’t mind the obvious lack of answer if he was going to get to eat. He happily followed after the man. 

“Y’know, I never did catch yer name.”

“…yes, that was on purpose.”

*******************************

With his horse settled in the closest barn, Jesse was back to looking after himself. He walked past the garden behind the large house that his new host had led him to. If the man he’d met again was the one taking care of the plants, which he must’ve been, he didn’t know what he was doing. Jesse might’ve grown up on a ranch with only a couple types of crops, but with that and the occasional help on the Wellson’s farm, he knew the basics of growing. 

He went in through the backdoor and found the kitchen, where the man set down a bowl of soup at the table. He walked back out of the room. Jesse resigned himself to eating alone, but his mood wasn’t dampened considering the food in front of him, which he began scarfing down. After a minute though, the man came back in with a strip of light linen. 

“Let me see your hand,” he said, sitting down on Jesse’s right. He held it out to let him at it. He began feeling up the fingers, checking the damage. He felt much more real than he’d seemed before when he’d been able to walk through a wall. Jesse hid a hiss of pain inside another mouthful. The man wrapped the linen around the forefinger and middle finger once before wrapping the ring finger as well for support. 

“You sure know what yer doin’.”

“I’ve seen worse.”

“…don’t know what yer doin’ with yer garden, though.” 

He paused to give Jesse a short glare. He didn’t protest though, suggesting that he also knew Jesse was right.

“And what’s wrong with it?” he expertly tied the knot on top of Jesse’s fingers and leaned back.

“Oh, tomatoes need support. Not sure that you’re watering right, either. I could lend a hand. A hand. Y’know,” he waved his newly bandaged one. 

“…hm. Very well.”

“And do you think I could get another helping?” Jesse asked with a cheeky grin, holding his empty bowl up. He would probably be sick tonight if he kept eating so fast.

The man took the bowl and stood up to go to the fireplace where a pot sat. 

“Hanzo,” he spoke as he was turned to the fireplace.

“What?”

“My name is Hanzo.”


	6. Jesse's Gaydar Goes Ding

The world began to lighten on the other side of Jesse’s eyelids. It slowly brought him out of his slumber. He scrunched up his face as he came to, and peeked out at the small room surrounding him. The morning sunlight bled through the curtain. It was the bedroom on the first floor of the house that Hanzo had let him stay in. It had been a child’s room judging by the remaining few clothes and toys inside the dresser he’d found last night. But it had been more than adequate for a good night’s sleep. Jesse pressed his cheek back down against the mattress with a long sigh. He didn’t want to get up. Getting to sleep so well after traveling and fighting and more traveling was a good way to unwind. The mattress hadn’t even had any coverings, taken from whoever first owned the house, but he’d fallen asleep quickly once he’d laid down. 

He pulled himself up after a few minutes. Both hunger and curiosity about his surroundings got him up and moving across the room. He’d set his chaps, shirt, and belt on a stool. But the shirt was pretty dirty from his traveling. He’d forgotten to take his second change of clothes out of the saddlebag yesterday. But hunger came first, so he elected to go get it after breakfast. 

He found coffee in the kitchen and got a pot started. Adding more to the little remaining soup from last night made for a simple breakfast. With a bowl in his good hand, he wandered out of the kitchen and around the first floor. This house was one of the larger ones that he’d seen around town. The largest room was a sitting room, with a couch and cushioned chair. An armoire sat against one wall, and a short stool next to it. Jesse went over and sat down to see the items resting on the stool that caught his eye. There was a strip of orange fabric and feather next to a small photograph. The picture showed a group of people, all dressed in a similar fashion to what he’d seen Hanzo in before. In fact, a younger looking Hanzo stood in the middle of the picture. 

He wondered just who these guys were to have a fancy picture of them taken. The closest he’d come to that was the occasional wanted poster with his face on it. Maybe that was why Hanzo didn’t know how to care for crops, he was from some wealthy family. Next to him in the photograph stood another young, though more smiley, kid. His brother? His attention swept over to the small feather. It didn’t seem like anything special, but it looked like it had been mindfully placed like everything else. Maybe it was a memorial of—

“Don’t touch that,” came the commanding voice behind him. Jesse jumped and dropped the feather and nearly spilled his soup. 

“Yeesh,” he breathed, looking back at Hanzo in the doorway. He gave Jesse a good stare before stepping back out. Jesse put the feather back and followed after him to the kitchen where Hanzo dropped into a chair. 

His loose hair was mussed and he blinked away the sleep in his eyes as his fingers fumbled over the last buttons on his shirt. Jesse poured a cup of coffee out and set it in front of him on the table.

“Your buttons aren’t right,” he commented.

Hanzo smoothed out the rest of his shirt to see he’d buttoned them all off by one hole. He grunted before starting to undo them. Jesse kept his grin small and sat across from him. 

“So…what’s your deal for being out here?” he tried again. He had let things slide the previous day, prioritizing food and shelter over anything else. But with a good night of sleep achieved, he was itching to get something more from this guy who kept getting away with telling Jesse nothing of consequence. 

Hanzo kept buttoning his shirt. A glimpse of his left pectoral revealed an intricate tattoo before getting hidden behind his shirt again. The silence stretched on in the room. This guy wasn’t a talker. 

“Your accent’s pretty thick. So I’d think you haven’t been around here for all that long,” Jesse prodded. Hanzo paused to take a swig of his coffee, eyeing Jesse while doing so. He seemed to be judging up Jesse as much as he was judging up Hanzo. 

“I have been in your country for a few months now,” he gave, going back to his shirt. 

“And what’s the deal with your whole blue…ness?” Jesse continued. 

“My what?”

“When I saw you before and you were all blue an’ ghostlike.”

“Mm.”

“…”

“…”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I did not allow you to stay here to question me,” he finished and stood up to get himself breakfast. 

“Sure, but I wanna know just what I’m dealing with here, if I’m gonna be around a bit.”

“Do not be a danger to me and I will not be a danger to you.” 

“So are you something other than a normal person, or what?”

Hanzo was cheeky enough to send a subtle smirk back at the table. 

“Do I seem like a spirit to you?”

“…not so much currently.” 

Hanzo came back with his own bowl, and proceeded to eat. He seemed perfectly normal. He looked like a normal human. He moved with the slowness of morning and he had bedhead and he was eating normal food and he looked very much like a typical living, breathing person. 

“How is your hand?” he asked.

“It’s seen better days,” Jesse admitted. 

“I’ll do the wrapping again tonight.”

“…so…was that your brother? In the picture?”

Hanzo watched the contents of his bowl.

“Yes. His name is Genji.”

“You haven’t found him yet?”

“…no.”

“If—”

“I do not want to continue this topic. You said you would help with the farm work?”

“…yeah. Got plenty of experience, I can help out.”

******************************

Jesse’s calloused hands fumbled with the twine and he had to start on the knot again. He had gotten plenty done, but his bandaged fingers kept getting in the way. It had been taking longer to get the support stakes up than he’d thought. 

He had Peacekeeper still holstered at his side, not feeling right without it even when he couldn’t actually use it. He took the small knife he’d been using and cut the excess twine from the knot to use on the next plant. He glanced up at the sky to check the time before shuffling up the row to start tying again. 

Hanzo came around the corner of the house hefting a large sack of something on one shoulder. Jesse had pegged him as from a rich family before, but seeing him carrying around a heavy burlap sack with ease had him questioning his origins again. Every time he thought he was getting an idea of who or what Hanzo was, something else would surprise him. 

A blue dragon followed Hanzo from around the side and floated with him into the house. Jesse shook his head. Hanzo came back out a couple minutes later to check on where Jesse was at. He took some of the supplies they’d set out and started on the next row. As they worked, the dragon came back out and glided silently along the edge of the garden and off again to wander. Jesse kept glancing up at it until it was out of sight. He gave a glance over to Hanzo, who looked over to Jesse’s work only to catch his sight. He cocked an eyebrow, but kept working. Fine. Jesse didn’t need answers, he could just keep on going wondering if he’d gone crazy or died and ended up in some strange afterlife purgatory situation that seemed like a weird dream. No big deal. 

“The dragons are connected with my family,” Hanzo said, “They have associated with us for many generations. You are not in danger, they only attack when told to.”

He left it at that.

“…don’t really think of dragons as creatures that’d wanna listen to anyone else,” Jesse mused. 

“It’s different for those in the Shimada clan. They would not answer to anyone else among the living.”

So he was from some special high-class family? He didn’t offer anything else after that, and Jesse decided against pushing him. 

******************************

Jesse turned from the dinner he was helping with back to the kitchen table when Hanzo reentered the room. He brought in fresh bandages and a bowl of water that he set down. 

“Show me your arm today, too,” he ordered. Jesse obliged, unbuttoning his shirt and shimmying it off to allow easier access to the stab wound that he still had wrapped with his bandana. And…unless his eyes were deceiving him, he was pretty sure that Hanzo’s own gaze had chanced a look-over of his now bare torso before fixing on the kerchief. Well that was interesting. He untied the bandana and set it next to his discarded shirt, and shifted closer to let Hanzo at it. 

He wetted an extra cloth and wiped down the cut to get a better look at it. Jesse acted relaxed, but was now alert to every little action of Hanzo’s, trying to read him. It was always a surprise to come across a kindred spirit. Even out west, where there were less prying eyes and more freedom for having the sort of companionship that was difficult to come by, it was still hard to find anyone. 

But judging by how Hanzo’s fingers were careful to brush across Jesse’s bicep as little as possible while he tied the new bandage on had him thinking that maybe he’d gotten lucky. Hanzo’s face was hard to read. His mouth was drawn in an unrevealing line. But his lips looked kind of nice.

“How were you injured?” Hanzo asked. 

“Oh, uh, had a little spat on the train. Dealt with it just fine.” 

Hanzo undid the wrapping on Jesse’s hand. 

“Your fingers should have some time out of the bandage. I can do it again after dinner.”

“Thank ya, kindly,” Jesse smiled. He took the opportunity to bring his arms up and give his upper body a good stretch and faked a yawn. No harm in giving a little show if Hanzo liked what he saw. It seemed to work judging by the eyes darting to the bowl that Hanzo picked up and moved to put away. 

Jesse put his arms back through his sleeves but elected to leave the front unbuttoned for the time being. It was difficult to do buttons with only one good hand, which served as a very good excuse.

“That what you brought in today?” he asked, pointing to the sack in the corner of the kitchen.

“Yes, from another house,” Hanzo said, checking how their dinner was cooking. 

“Just how old is whatever’s in it? It gonna be alright?” 

“It appeared that people hadn’t been gone for long when I first found this town,” Hanzo explained. 

“Hn. Wonder why they left.”


	7. That's Rough, Buddy

The wood creaked under Jesse as he moved up the stairs to investigate Hanzo’s absence from breakfast. He wasn’t trying to breach any unspoken privacy boundaries, but he himself had woken up a long time ago. Despite only one fully usable hand, he had gotten breakfast just fine and eaten in peace. But spending some time that had stretched on longer than he’d anticipated on his own let the feeling of being somewhere strange creep back in. 

He hadn’t known Hanzo very long still, but the company drove away the feeling of being stranded out in the desert nonetheless. He wasn’t sure how long Hanzo would stick around either. Encounters previous to finding each other here pointed to him being quite fixated on locating his brother. But at this town he kept busy with keeping what crops and remaining animals were around alright, as if he was planning on staying for an extended period. Maybe he went back and forth between looking and remaining somewhere secure. 

But in any case, it was midmorning and Jesse still hadn’t heard him emerge from his room. Jesse was from a ranch, and still got up in the early morning accordingly. But so did most people. He got to the door that was shut and gave it a soft knock. There was no response.

“Hanzo? Hey Han,” he called out softly. No response. 

Privacy boundaries ignored, he turned the knob and pushed the door open to the master bedroom. A lump of blankets spread over the bed. Maybe it hadn’t only been the previous occupants who’d taken blankets from the lower bedroom after all? Jesse had had to raid a neighboring house to cover his own bed. The pile of sheets and patchwork quilts rose and fell subtly, concluding that Hanzo was in fact still fast asleep under them. 

It was sort of cute, if not for the fact that he had told Jesse he was going to show him around the town today. But Jesse decided against forcing him awake and took his time to shut the door quietly before heading back to the stairs. There were other chores he could get started on his own. 

*****************************

A sharp melody cut through the morning air. Jesse sucked in another large breath and brought the instrument back to his lips. He was trying to recreate a simple tune, but his lack of experience left the music with various extra notes. He wandered back into the backyard as the door opened and Hanzo stepped out. 

“Hey, look who’s finally up,” he called out. 

“My apologies. I did not intend to make you wait for me,” he replied. He had his hands up behind his head as he tied his hair back. His bow and quiver were hanging off him, ready for practicing after the animal feeding was done.

“Lookit what I found,” Jesse grinned, holding up the metal piece. 

“What is it?”

“Harmonica. Haven’t seen one of these in a while.” He blew into it again, showing off the little music he’d managed.

“It is loud. I heard it when I was downstairs.” 

“Mhm. So, wanna show me ‘round town?”

Hanzo tilted his head in response and led the way around the side of the house that they had taken up residency of. There were a few places specifically that Hanzo wanted to point out to Jesse, a pig pen and two chicken coops, so he could help out with them. If he was going to be staying for a while, Hanzo wasn’t above putting the cowboy to use as much as he could. He knew what he was doing anyway, and anything to lighten his own workload was welcome. 

He showed Jesse down the street and around the side of a building to where the first chicken coop was. The chickens roamed freely, but most were around the yard ready for their human-provided meal to supplement their scavenging. They were in decent condition, Jesse decided. He looked in the coop and counted up nesting boxes to get a better idea of how many he was dealing with.

The other coop had impatient occupants as well. They clucked and fed greedily as Jesse searched for eggs. 

“Hm,” Hanzo grunted, feeling at his side for something that wasn’t there. “I must have put my quiver down at the first coop. I can meet you at the pigs.” He handed Jesse the bowl of scraps to go along with other feed and pointed out where they’d meet up between distant buildings. 

Once he was certain he’d gotten all the eggs, Jesse stepped out over the fence and headed toward their last stop. With some zigzagging, he got close enough to smell the presence of the couple of pigs. They looked a little worse for wear, but Hanzo had fixed their fencing nicely after they’d apparently escaped when left behind months back. 

With them happily situated eating their food, Jesse sat down on the front porch of the house to watch for Hanzo. He took the harmonica back out of his pocket. It took a few minutes longer than he’d expected for him to show up. He watched Jesse carefully as he approached. Jesse lowered the harmonica in surrender, but the hard stare that Hanzo was giving him didn’t stop. 

“I went a different way than where I normally go through,” he started.

“What, you get lost?” 

“No. I found something,” he said. He took out a rolled up piece of paper from his back pocket. He opened it up and let it fall to the wooden porch next to Jesse. It was a poster with Jesse’s name and face on it, offering a nice-sized reward for capture. Jesse tipped his head back and met Hanzo’s gaze, weighing the situation. 

“You did not mention you are a criminal, Jesse,” Hanzo spoke testily. 

Hanzo wasn’t in a great position to do anything to him. He could defend himself if he needed to, but there wasn’t any real reason why Hanzo would pull any move right at the moment. His countenance displayed someone who lost trust in Jesse, but his dark eyes watched him for a reaction. He was testing Jesse. Not sure what to make of him, he revealed what he learned about him to try to get more. 

“Well shucks, darlin’. There’s plenty more I haven’t mentioned either. Love spicy food. Lost my first tooth at three, ‘cause I tripped right onto a rock. Split my lip, too. One time—”

“Do not make light of this. It says you are in a group of thieves.”

“What’s so big about it? ‘Sides—” Jesse leaned forward and stood up, looking at Hanzo, “I recall you bein’ weary of the law, too. It’d be just a touch odd to find someone way out here who ain’t hidin’ from somethin’, don’t ya think?” 

Hanzo shifted. He was no saint, either. Jesse didn’t know all the details, but he could guess that much. 

“So,” he started again. He reached out to Hanzo’s farther arm and pulled him around before he’d object and draped his arm around his shoulders now that they were facing the same way, “how ‘bout us law-breakers get back to that butt ugly garden o’ yours?” 

Hanzo lowered his hand that had been reaching up to remove Jesse’s as he looked back to give him a dirty look. 

“It is not that bad,” he defended. 

Jesse smirked and brought the harmonica back to his lips. 

 

*****************************

A couple of days had passed since the poster had been found. Jesse had yet to get an arrow in the back, so he suspected that Hanzo didn’t view him as a liability. If anything, he seemed to open up a little more to Jesse. Common ground of some sort or another helped conversation feel easier. Jesse talked about Deadlock a little bit. Hanzo didn’t seem all that impressed by it, but his lack of talk against it suggested that his background couldn’t have been entirely better.

Jesse raised up Peacekeeper with his left hand, taking his time to adjust his aim at a support beam for the building at the very end of the street. He fired, and the bullet shot into the building wall beside the beam. 

“What does ‘deadeye’ mean?” Hanzo asked beside him.

“Means a good shot. Someone who’s always getting their target just right.”

“Hm. That is what I thought. Perhaps the poster was for someone else after all.”

Jesse clicked his tongue and whirled around to eye Hanzo, who was actually letting a smile creep up the corners of his mouth. He looked tired today, but it didn’t stop the smugness.

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you try to do better?”

Hanzo didn’t look daunted by the challenge. He cocked an arrow fluidly and after only a moment to aim let it fly into the beam. Jesse let out a low whistle, but Hanzo was apparently not satisfied with his first shot landing so close to the edge. He fired another one that landed in the middle before his scowl left. They both fired a couple more practice shots before walking down the street so Hanzo could retrieve his arrows. 

“Pretty handy with that bow. Just how long’ve you been shooting?”

“I had some experiences with archery in Japan, but my main training was elsewhere. Only since coming here have I taken to the bow all the time.” 

“What were you usin’ before? Can’t see you bein’ even better at something else.”

“A katana.”

“What?”

“A sword.”

“Ah. Well, wouldn’t mind watchin’ you use one sometime. Imagine you’d look right handsome, don’t mind me sayin’.”

“I will never use one again,” Hanzo said determinedly, the flirting ignored.

“Why’s that?”

The pause couldn’t have alerted Jesse to what came next. 

“I tried to kill my brother with mine.”

Jesse hesitated, processing that information, before looking over at a stone-faced Hanzo. He seemed distant all of a sudden. 

The brother that he was looking for? He’d had the impression that the two had a good relationship for Hanzo to be looking for him. He wasn’t…no, he couldn’t be trying to finish his brother off. If he refused to use the weapon he’d used before, that sounded like regret. But he certainly hadn’t mentioned any trouble between him and his brother before. He had mentioned hardly anything at all, but still, this news changed what Jesse had assumed their relationship to be like. 

“…I…don’t mean to poke at a sore wound, but…what was going on between you?”

Hanzo took time to answer again. 

“In the Shimada clan, you live according to the clan leaders. In our work, it is important for survival. We have lived well for many generations this way. Genji did not want to be commanded how to live. He was very…carefree. Our father was the leader. After he passed, we were to take over. It was mostly my responsibility, but Genji still wanted nothing to do with it. When we demanded his obedience, he tried to run away. We followed him to America and tracked him down. In our fight, I wounded him badly. He escaped, but I thought he would not live long.”

They reached the building that they’d bombarded, and Hanzo started to ease out the arrows. 

“Somehow, he lived.”

Jesse waited for further explanation, but Hanzo didn’t offer any without further questioning. 

“How?”

“I do not know. The last I saw him was when I hurt him. But he was okay. I searched, but I never found his body.”

That…wasn’t a lot of evidence to go on. Jesse wasn’t sure that there was an appropriate way to say what he feared, that his brother had indeed died. If he had actually sliced him up that bad, it seemed the only reasonable conclusion. 

“So you all are still looking for him?”

“No. The other members who came returned. I left them. I could not go back to them after that. If Genji did not return with us, I had nothing with them.” 

Hanzo was clearly in a terrible tangle of emotions. Jesse wasn’t surprised that he was chasing such thin hope of finding his brother again. If he really had nothing left, it must have been an easy desperation to fall into. 

“Just how is it you look for ‘im? I still don’t get that,” Jesse asked. Hanzo had skirted the topic before, but with both being more open with each other maybe he would talk. 

“I do not wish for interference, please leave my mission alone,” Hanzo requested.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love feedback, btw.  
> Normal comments, or if you see a grammar/writing error! (*´▽｀*)


	8. Poultry Joins the Menu

“Nah, I’m not kiddin’,” Jesse laughed. 

“Your stories are hard to believe,” Hanzo said in the rocking chair next to his. But he was clearly amused by Jesse’s collection of misadventures. He huffed out a breath in replacement of a laugh, shaking his head. 

The two settled into a comfortable silence. Jesse had been growing happy with his current situation. It hadn’t been the sort of time away from things that he had first anticipated when Deadlock spread out, but he’d make do with it gratefully. He felt bad about running off from his family again. He was a grown man by now, and could do what he wanted, but it still came with the price of their worries. But lying low here was better than heading into the thick of things like he had started to do with Rojo. 

He felt over the fresh bandage on his fingers. It was a pain, literal and otherwise, but perhaps it had been a blessing in disguise. He glanced over to Hanzo, whose own eyes shot back forward out past the garden and off into the darkening distant wilderness. 

The cut in his arm had been healing well. He’d expected it to, after all. It hadn’t been bad in the first place. It still hurt when he stretched in certain ways, but it would turn out fine. His fingers would too, judging by Hanzo’s care. At this point, he figured that he’d be able to care for them himself. He still wanted to stay away from people for a while, but if he could care for himself then Hanzo had no reason to keep hosting him in the reclaimed town. But judging by their time together, it was apparent that Hanzo benefited from his presence too, although he didn’t outright say it. 

Jesse flinched when he heard a noise a little way out, but relaxed realizing it was a rooster. There was one in particular that would get confused and crow at odd hours. Jesse grinned. 

“It will be one of those nights,” Hanzo sighed. Jesse chuckled and looked back at him. He had his head leaned back against the chair and his eyes shut. After a long moment like that, Jesse realized they had been out there for some time. 

“You tired?” he asked.

Hanzo scowled and pulled himself back up. He reached down and stroked the dragon that lay curled around his chair. Disturbed from its own resting it shifted and began floating back into the air. 

“It is late. We should prepare for the night,” he said, standing up. Jesse stood up after him and held the door open for Hanzo before following after him. 

 

*****************************

 

Jesse tried to sleep. He did for a fairly long while. He’d drifted off for a little bit, only to come back out of the shallow state. And now he wasn’t even able to reach that again. Perhaps the past comforting days had left him antsy. Or it could have been the conflict going on in his head over how bad of an idea it would be to make a move on Hanzo. Or maybe he was worried about having another nightmare about Rojo descending from Heaven just to pistol-whip him for not doing a clean job on the train. Not like he’d done a good job either, getting stabbed like that. And what was he doing in Heaven anyway? Jesse knew him better than that. The whole thing didn’t make sense, but that hadn’t stopped him from getting spooked awake the night he had it anyway. Dreams were funny like that.

He tossed over yet again in bed, trying to get comfortable. The more frustrated he got at not being able to fall asleep, the further away from slumber he went. Eventually, he tossed his blanket aside and headed for his shoes. He slipped them on and headed for the front door quietly, trying to let Hanzo sleep in the dead of night. He walked out closer to the more established part of town. The world was silent, as if there was nothing around. The sky was filled with stars and a moon shining overhead, giving enough light to see his way. 

It was a beautiful night. You couldn’t see the stars like this in a big city. Part of Jesse was curious about a life in the east with more people, but he figured it wouldn’t ever feel quite like a home. He was born and raised among the farms and tumbleweeds and plains. Adjusting to something else would be strange. 

He found the saloon and stepped in. He hadn’t actually been inside yet, same with most of the buildings. But on a night like tonight when thoughts piled in his mind, a drink seemed the best companion. Without the faint light from the sky, it was even darker. He realized taking a lantern from their house would’ve been smart. Instead, he fumbled around behind the counter for something to light what was there. He got a couple candles set up toward each end of the counter before grabbing a last one to read the bottles behind him. He grabbed a glass a little bigger than the size meant for the drink and poured. 

A second glass was emptied as he eyed the room around him. A few small tables with chairs tucked in covered the layout. A few playing cards sat scattered on the floor. There was dirt on the floor too, windswept in from the outside over the past months. They hadn’t even boarded up the door before leaving. He looked back at the shelf behind him for a different drink. Being in a ghost town might’ve had an eerie feeling, but it also meant not paying for your drinks. So things balanced out.

A stain on the shelf had Jesse bring down the candle to get a better look. Blood. It lay dried onto the wood. Judging by the amount and spray, it was probably from gunfire. Jesse eyed it a long moment before grabbing another bottle. 

He jumped more noticeably this time when the rooster crowed in the distance. Maybe he would just have to show Hanzo just how great he was at frying chicken sometime soon. He neglected the glass on the counter and brought the new bottle of whatever to his lips. 

A bloody stain would be cleaned off by a bar owner. It wouldn’t exactly be welcoming to walk into a saloon with one. It must have been from right around when the townsfolk left. He wasn’t surprised by that. Hanzo had spoken of graves around town that didn’t appear to be old. 

Something had happened here. There hadn’t really been explanation before. There still wasn’t much of one, but at least he could pretty safely rule out environmental problems. He wasn’t sure how to feel about the conflict being man-made though. If it had been an isolated problem among those people of the town, then they should be safe. If it wasn’t, then there was the threat of dangerous people returning. 

Jesse wanted to search around the other buildings in town now. He hadn’t particularly cared before, except to look for this or that that their house was lacking. It wouldn’t be easy to look tonight, and he wasn’t interested in looking that soon when the town was still engulfed in shadow. He wondered how many other bloodstains would be around. What they would be around. For people moving away, some houses did seem to leave quite a bit that one would normally want to take. Having to leave quickly did that. 

He felt around under the counter for another candle to light. 

 

*****************************

 

He was, admittedly, drunker than he had intended to get. A lack of charge on the drinks and his own irresponsibility saw to that. He had successfully wasted some time and gotten concerns off the forefront of his mind though. He walked across the road nearest to the house, candlestick in hand to guide his way. He’d passed by Hanzo’s dragon on the way back, winding its way around town to watch for trouble as usual. He was pretty good at keeping on his feet while inebriated, but he was extra careful as the dragon drifted past, sniffing him before continuing on. 

It wasn’t a human, but if it was intelligent enough to commune with those who spoke Japanese, Jesse didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of it. 

Considering its tendency to head out of town to play scout, it had probably been what Jesse caught sight of prior to the town itself when he first arrived. It didn’t mean much either way, being some mirage or a dragon, as he would’ve found the town in time anyway. But that was one mystery solved. 

He paused in the backyard to check the garden for problems, namely the jackrabbit that had made a move on it earlier when Jesse had been away from Peacekeeper. It lay still and quiet, no breeze to rustle the leaves. He gave the sky another moment as well, appreciating its presence. 

An unfamiliar spot on a hill out a short way into the desert caught Jesse’s attention. It didn’t appear to be that large, but Jesse knew that hill and the shadow definitely hadn’t been there before. He checked to make sure that he had put on his gun belt over his nightclothes before heading out closer to investigate. 

He treaded quietly forward, even more so when he realized it was a person sitting up there. He decided against ditching the candlestick though when he realized it was Hanzo. He was kneeling down away from the town, his bow at his side. He wore a kimono again, like what Jesse had seen him in during their first confusing encounters. It was kind of odd. Jesse had gotten used to seeing him in western clothes, but perhaps at night he went back to more comfortable wear. 

In any case, it was unusual for both to be up at this hour of night. Jesse walked up close to him. He stayed still, but Jesse wasn’t sneaking anymore so he figured Hanzo of all people had heard him approach. He tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, pretty late, you—” was all he got out before he was lifted and spun hard onto his back. The air left his lungs and he let out a heavy grunt. 

“What are you doing?! Why are you awake?” Hanzo berated him, giving him no recovery time. He rolled onto his side to get up and let the breath come back to him before responding. 

“Could ask you the same, what’s your problem?” Jesse retorted. 

“But you are never up this late. Why must you bother me now?”

“What, not like you’re doin’ anything either. Sittin’ out here in the dark.”

“I am doing everything. You are disturbing me. Go sleep,” he commanded, clearly annoyed as he pointed back toward the house. 

“I…what? What’re you talking about?”

Hanzo’s finger didn’t stop pointing at the house. 

“Is it nightmares or something? If I’m steppin’ on toes, I don’t mean to be.”

“You are not on my toes. But you are here when you should not be. You need to stop disturbing me at night.”

“That’s…not what steppin’—oh whatever. But what about night, what’s so specific about that?”

Hanzo gave him a moody stare which was visible through the candlelight that had miraculously survived getting flung out of Jesse’s hand. 

“Just lemme know what’s going on an’ I’ll be out of yer ha—I’ll leave ya be,” Jesse reasoned. 

Hanzo mulled it over. 

“You will leave me alone?”

“Yeah.”

“…I am searching for Genji.”

That earned a confused look from Jesse. 

“Y—…what? Yer just sittin’ out here.”

“I am meditating,” Hanzo explained, “The dragon staying with us here is not the only one. I have another who heeds my call as well. It has been traveling, searching for my brother. Through our bond, I am able to connect to its spirit and aid it. The dragons are not meant to be in the realm of the living for a long time, nor is our bond meant to be used in this way. It is difficult to continue. And needs concentration. Which is not able to happen when you disturb me.”

“So…you were all blue’n’glowin’ when we met ‘cause you weren’t actually there? You were just…kind of there?”

“Yes.”

“’Cause of yer dragon. The other one.”

“Yes.”

That…explained a lot. He still didn’t get it, being all mystical dragon stuff. But at least he understood it a little bit. And he’d certainly seen Hanzo in all his spirit-like glory around different towns which didn’t have any other clear explanation. He regretted getting drunk a little bit more. It wasn’t a good time for him to be thinking hard.

“So you just help out this dragon o’ yers sometimes to look?”

“Every night.”

“How long’re you up doing that?”

“As long as it takes to cover some ground.”

Knowing how Hanzo seemed to be a perfectionist, Jesse guessed that that meant quite a while.

“Geez, no wonder you sleep in.”

Hanzo reached down and picked the candlestick up off the ground. 

“Why not do all that somewhere more comfortable?”

“You snore.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“…also the chicken.”

“Ah, yeah. Good point. We could just kill’n’eat that one, by the way. Not that I’m suggesting that as a proper solution to disturbances in general.”

That actually earned a snicker from Hanzo. He handed the candlestick out for Jesse.

“Good night, Jesse.”

He took it and made a couple of steps before pausing to turn back to his friend.

“I hope you’re lookin’ out for yourself too, Han,” he said gently, not meaning to offend.

Hanzo waved off his worry casually before settling back down on his knees. Jesse headed back to the house to give him the space that he needed.


	9. Funny Decks get Two Kings of Hearts

Jesse shut the door behind him, and left the front porch of a small house. He adjusted his hat to combat the sun overhead. It was growing later into the afternoon, but the temperature was still enough to cause heatwaves to rise up from the ground. He had taken some detours from his normal route to search out a little more of the town. He hadn’t found anything of any real consequence, save for some of the graves that Hanzo had already mentioned. 

He had brought up his wonder with a little more concern a few days after he’d found the bar scene, giving him time to mull it over. Hanzo hadn’t been outright unconcerned, but everything else that he was dealing with pushed the question about the town to the side. He needed a place to lie low, and this was better than he could get anywhere else. If there were any issues, they would be dealt with when the time came. And, he had pointed out, Jesse wasn’t the only one there with fight experience. His dragons were very considerate in their watching out for him too, which would be immensely helpful in such a case. 

Jesse still wondered about the town, but talking his thoughts out and hearing more of Hanzo’s eased his nerves. 

He had gotten used to the town. He wasn’t quite fond of it, but his company was something to be pleased with. Thinking back to said company, he quickened his pace a little to get back to the house. They needed to bring in more hay bales into the stable for the horses, and Jesse wanted to make sure he did plenty of the heavy lifting. In the past weeks, he had taken to performing more of the harder tasks himself. Sometimes it was intentional, sometimes it was just a subconscious attempt to show off. But mostly it was to keep Hanzo from wearing himself down too much. With his nightly work as well, he had a difficult schedule to maintain. 

Jesse blew out a cheap tune on the harmonica. He had taken to keeping it on him and playing away from Hanzo more than around him, as he appeared less entertained by it than Jesse was. Jesse couldn’t really blame him. He didn’t have the hang of it yet. 

 

****************************

 

With a small grunt, Jesse hefted the bale into place inside the stable. He eyed the pile they’d started, figuring a few more trips would do it. He blinked away the dust from upsetting the stable air as he walked back out. The horses were in the neighboring corral. He figured he and Hanzo could ride them out for a while tomorrow; they needed a better chance to stretch their legs again. 

Speaking of Hanzo, he was currently sitting on the edge of the back porch leaning over the chicken that he was preparing for cooking. He had helped Jesse at first, but with the afternoon going by he’d gone off to get started on dinner. Jesse hadn’t expected himself to get caught up on someone who so clearly didn’t know how to live normally. But he suppressed an amused grin when he saw Hanzo doing a terrible job of plucking the bird. 

He walked over and stuck his hands in his pockets and watched for a moment before deciding a petty tease wasn’t below him. 

“Y’already killed the poor bird. No need to keep bullyin’ the thing.”

Hanzo paused for just a moment, in a way that gave a more dramatic feel to his turning and eyeing Jesse with a frustrated glare. 

“Is there an easier way to do this?” he asked, clearly annoyed that Jesse hadn’t already mentioned it. To be fair, it hadn’t crossed Jesse’s mind that he would need to. 

“Uh-hn,” he responded, “get that big pot we got filled up about yea high with water ‘n get it hot on the stove. Not boiling. Ya gotta dunk the chicken.”

“Dunk?”

Jesse pantomimed the action. He was actually surprised by how little English he had to teach Hanzo. He didn’t know much about Japan, but he didn’t think English would be the easiest language to learn there. But considering the Shimada family seemed to be of some sort of renown, he must have had a better chance than most to have a teacher. 

“Very well,” Hanzo replied, relieved to have a way to make the process easier. Jesse went on to continue to move the hay bales while Hanzo got the water going. When they both finished, Jesse showed him how long to hold the chicken in to loosen the feathers before leaving him to pluck it again. It went more quickly when two people did it, but he figured he could do a little more work while Hanzo stayed busy with that for the next while. So he left Hanzo alone to the task to garner some experience. 

 

****************************

 

“So?” Jesse asked a little cockily. 

“So?” Hanzo questioned as he stepped back in with water from the pump to wash the dishes.

“Pretty good, huh?”

“I believe I mentioned before that your cooking was good. If that is what you are talking about.”

“’Course it is. Just wanted to hear it again.”

Hanzo shook his head. 

“What’s so bad about that? Good to hear I’m useful ‘round here.”

“Very well,” Hanzo conceded, in a happy enough mood to do so, “You are useful around here, Jesse McCree.” 

“S’like music to my ears.”

“Like your harmonica?”

Jesse glanced away from the dish he had begun scrubbing to catch a trace of mischief in Hanzo’s face. 

“Gettin’ smart on me,” he chided.

They cleaned off the utensils and cooking equipment they had used and got the kitchen back in order, which still had the scent of fried chicken in the air. For not having too many seasoning options, Jesse gave himself some mental praise for getting it to come out as well as it did. 

“Got time left in the day. We could just do somethin’ relaxin’,” Jesse suggested once they’d finished.

Hanzo peered out the back door at the sky that was just beginning to darken. 

“Shooting practice?” he suggested. 

“I was thinkin’ somethin’ a little bit more homebound,” Jesse elaborated. Practice had been the main pastime that they had taken up together. Several wooden posts around town were evidence of that. But it was still hot out, and Jesse was in the mood for a change of pace. He looked around the room, thinking about what options they had. His late-night trip from weeks back came to mind.

“You ever play blackjack? I might just know where to round up a deck of cards.”

 

****************************

 

The young men sat on each end of the couch facing each other, with the cards spread out in front of them. Jesse hadn’t found an entire deck, but it was close enough to play for the evening. He hadn’t wanted to take up much time from the actual playing. He could always look for the remaining few another time. 

Hanzo had caught on to blackjack fairly quickly and they’d played for a while, but he didn’t seem to like it much. So Jesse had started teaching the steps to playing poker. He was currently moving around the cards in different groups to show Hanzo all the different hands. Hanzo in turn was arranging the hands as Jesse changed them to practice his learning of the ranking. 

“I think you’ve pretty much got it. You got a quick head on yer shoulders.”

“You are a good teacher as well.” 

“Think it’s gettin’ late, you wanna call it for the night? We can see what you remember tomorrow and actually get some playing in.”

Hanzo nodded and began picking up the cards. 

“Let’s order ‘em up so I can keep track of which ones I gotta find.”

They started with ordering all of one suit and moved to the next. Hanzo was…close, now that he realized it. Jesse’s fingers fumbled over a card as he slid it in place. It felt kind of funny to him to get nervous. They had been spending so much time around each other that a situation such as realizing their proximity shouldn’t have made him feeling like his head was full of cotton. But he felt antsy and Hanzo looked good up close like this, and…and he was staring and Hanzo was now looking back at him because he’d looked at him for too long. 

He leaned closer, part of him deciding that now was as good a time as any. Another part of him was screaming at himself because he was getting closer and there wasn’t any excuse he could make now to play this off if he got a bad reaction and there was plenty at risk. But he got closer and after a moment to deliberate Hanzo leaned in too, and their lips met. Hanzo’s were nice. Jesse hadn’t been paying attention to whether his own were chapped or not but it was too late to worry about now. He pulled away just enough to adjust his position before going back in, and Hanzo mimicked him. 

The kiss was tender, until they both pushed in a little harder. The affection in the action filled a need that Jesse hadn’t realized had been so strong. His chest felt tight and when Hanzo rested a hand on his knee to lean in better, it felt like something that had been missing. He had gone for a long time now without feeling especially close to anyone. Sharing this moment with someone had more of an impact than he had expected. Judging by how content Hanzo felt against him, he seemed to be experiencing the same. 

It took a little longer for Hanzo to pull back. 

“You said it was late,” he muttered. “We should prepare for the night.”

“Mm,” Jesse responded, still processing what just took place. Between them, the cards had tumbled from the cushion shifting under them. Hanzo started to pick them back up when Jesse motioned him away.

“You got searchin’ to do, I can handle this,” he offered. Hanzo started to stand up, and paused to lean in for a chaste kiss before heading to the door.


	10. No One Likes a Cockblock

Despite the excellent shade that the overhang gave the front porch, it was still hot out. It was a dry heat, a desert heat that sucked the water from whatever was foolish or unlucky to take it on unprepared. It contrasted with the moist warmth of Hanzo’s mouth that was finding pleasure against Jesse’s. The hand on Jesse’s cheek was warm too, but a living kind of warm, same as the one that was entangled in Jesse’s hair. He moaned into the deep kiss and brought his own hands further up Hanzo’s back under his shirt. He hadn’t intended to be doing this when he’d gone out, but he was in no way opposed to be flat on his back with the man he was sweet on over him. He was more than happy to show off how good he could be with his tongue. 

The voice of Hanzo’s dragon cut through the air and surprised them both. It flew from down the street as it approached, speaking to it’s master. Hanzo sat upright quickly upon hearing what it had to say, his mind immediately no longer invested in Jesse below him. 

After their first display of affection, there had been an awkward following couple of days in which they hadn’t been sure how to react. But it phased out and left them content to give in and relax into each other more and more. They’d grown comfortable with sharing the affection with each other. But having Hanzo’s dragon interrupt was a first, and certainly not something they would be keen on. The importance of it’s interrupting Hanzo outweighed everything else though, because judging by Hanzo’s expression and his jumping back to his feet, there was something serious going on. His next words confirmed it. 

“There are people here,” he spoke in a low, weary tone. He backed up to the door and ducked inside for his bow, and Jesse followed after him for his revolver. They checked to make sure no one was nearby outside before heading back out and quietly beginning their search for the intruders. 

It took weaving most of the way through the empty town to locate them. The dragon must have seen them approaching. Those things sure were useful. Jesse stayed behind the building that their voices drifted from the other side of. Hanzo had gone down the other side of the street, and after an exchange of glances to confirm they both knew where they were, he ran up to a building and effortlessly scaled it up to the roof. The silence of the maneuver was impressive. Jesse tucked away the idea to comment later about him being welcome to climb him, too. 

Chancing a glance around the building corner, he saw two rugged looking men, a very dilapidated wagon that they’d arrived in pulled by a couple of oxen, and a young woman. One of the men was walking away gesturing vaguely as he spoke to the other, presumably about checking out the area. They were both armed. Jesse wasn’t as concerned about the woman who the other was helping off the back of the wagon, considering she was tied up. The men, in both appearance and how they carried themselves, came across easily as troublemakers. The young woman, dressed in what had been a clean, pretty Mexican outfit before the ride, came across as someone who had been unlucky to get involved in the affairs of some intimidating men. 

Jesse wasn’t sure how to go about the situation. But with Hanzo up on a roof acting as backup, he was in the better position to actually engage them. He went ahead and waited for the first man to leave before doing anything. Louder words than before, agitated Spanish ones, came from the girl and Jesse glanced to see her sitting on a porch. The man who was still there was kicking up her skirt to tease her. It gave him a moment to see the man’s face, at least, and determine that he wasn’t in Deadlock. He went ahead and stepped out from behind the building. The man visibly flinched at his entrance and his hand hovered near his holster. 

“Good afternoon,” Jesse stated. The young woman stared at him in surprise for a moment before a big grin flashed on her face. 

“Are you here to help me?” she asked excitedly, “These bad men have been mistreating me, please save me!”

“You gettin’ what you deserve,” the man barked at her. “Say…” he whipped his attention back to Jesse, “You’re that Deadlock kid.”

Jesse was a little put off by that. He might’ve joined as a kid but he wasn’t one anymore. He tipped his head back. 

“Could make some money offa you, too” the man reasoned. His eyes shifted around the town, finding no immediate evidence that Jesse wasn’t alone. Jesse kept a steady watch over the man’s motions, his hand still at his hips. It was then that Jesse remembered the bandaging on his right hand and his need to use his left instead to shoot. It was a bad time to remember that he wouldn’t have a quick draw. 

“Don’t recall whether they want ya dead’er alive, but I can take my chances,” and in a blur his hand went to his side and brought back his gun. Jesse moved for his own while falling back for the cover of the building. A shot rang out and Jesse heard it whizz near him in the air and hit dried wood to his opposite side. With his gun in his left hand he moved back out, but the man was already falling down on the sandy dirt ground with an arrow embedded in his head. The woman was surprised by the sneaky attack and looked around for the mystery shooter. 

Jingling spurs and heavy boots sounded as the man who had gone off to explore came running back into the street clearing. He wasn’t Deadlock affiliated either, and Jesse dropped him to the ground too. Ideally, they wouldn’t have jumped to attack right away and he would have been able to talk with them and figure out an idea of who they were. Now there was just the woman on the porch thanking him with warm, buttery praises. He holstered Peacekeeper and walked over to untie her.  


“So just who’re you, an’ who’re they?” he asked.

“You could answer that first,” she reasoned, falling back to caution, “You might have helped me, but he seemed to think you have money on your head. Are you and your friend bad like them?”

That was a fair concern on her part. If she had gotten bullied by two men already, she wouldn’t want to be running into the arms of two other outlaws. 

“I’d like to think I don’t quite fit in with them,” Jesse answered somewhat vaguely. Hanzo walked over from the building he climbed down from. “Name’s Jesse.” He held his bandaged hand out for her. She dusted off her purple skirt as she stood up before shaking it daintily. 

“Felipa,” she introduced, batting her eyelashes with practiced innocence. 

“Should we kill her, too?” Hanzo asked bluntly. His gaze at her was steady and untrusting. 

“What?! Why would you hurt me? I’ve just been through so much with them kidnapping me!”

“Just why were they after you?” Jesse asked, still wondering at her involvement with the men himself. 

“They were angry with my papi. He’s the sheriff of a town far away and he caught onto their scheming. He chased them away and they took me to scare him and get revenge. I miss my family so much!” 

Hanzo’s face didn’t change. He either didn’t buy it or couldn’t care less. But Jesse found himself rationalizing that they couldn’t just kill her off if she was in fact innocent. 

“Might as well get her some lunch, huh? Been a rough day,” he nudged at Hanzo, who gave him an unpleased look over bringing someone willingly into the town they’d claimed for themselves. 

“Oh, thank you! I’m actually starving right now!” she said happily, wrapping her arms around one of Jesse’s and clinging on like the lifeline he was. 

“…very well. I will take care of the bodies in the meantime,” Hanzo relented. 

 

****************************

 

“So,” Jesse said around a mouthful of food, pointing with his fork at Felipa who was at the table for dinner with them, “where can this li’l lady go from here?”

Hanzo considered the problem for a long moment. Jesse hadn’t just been unlucky when he’d arrived there without seeing any other establishments, the town really did feel isolated. It wasn’t in the middle of absolutely nowhere, but it didn’t meet up with common trails that would bring passersby. 

“I will have to think about where the nearest town is,” he answered. Which probably meant that he would need to discuss it with his dragon when Felipa wasn’t around because he wasn’t certain either. 

“So how come you two are out here? You just get really lost?” she asked curiously. She had a friendly personality and Jesse appreciated having another face around, but there was a shiftiness in her eyes that suggested she wasn’t fully trustworthy. 

“Sort of,” Jesse admitted honestly, smiling. 

“How long have you men been out here?”

“A while,” Hanzo gave dryly. 

“Not too much longer, in fact,” Jesse also admitted. He hadn’t actually voiced that out loud yet, and it felt awkward to do so. He would need to move on eventually. He had been well aware of that ever since he first started to get comfortable here. But he would be leaving Hanzo, and there was no guarantee that their luck would allow them to run into each other again. 

Hanzo didn’t have a noticeable reaction to Jesse’s words. He had known that Jesse would leave eventually too. On top of that, they also had both been careful to not come across as overly involved with each other since the woman had joined them earlier in the day. 

“I believe,” Hanzo went back, still thinking, “there was a town northwest of here. I will search for a map to check on that.” 

“I suppose there are plenty of beds for me to choose from tonight, huh? Not a crowded town.”

Hanzo gave a quiet but moody grunt. 

“Reckon so. Actually, with other places bein’ so unused, they’re kinda dusty,” Jesse realized as he started collecting dishes from the table. “Just washed my own sheets yesterday,” he motioned toward the downstairs bedroom down the little hall, “you could take that if you wanted. I can get comfy with Hanzo.”

“How considerate of you to invite yourself into my room,” Hanzo said with his unique brand of dry sarcasm, arms folded over his chest. 

“Thank you! You guys are such nice new friends,” Felipa replied, sounding happy to annoy Hanzo more than anything else. 

 

****************************

 

“Psst, Jesse. Hey amigo. Jesse.”

Jesse came out of his sleep once he recognized someone calling for him. He breathed in deeply and shoved around the blankets on top of him to turn around away from the wall. A silhouette that definitely wasn’t Hanzo’s was standing next to the bed looking over him. 

This…was not something he had anticipated. She seemed like a decent if still slightly suspicious girl, but he was in no mood for her to be making late-night advances. Sure, he and Hanzo didn’t have some kind of official agreement about where their relationship stood, but in Jesse’s mind it was something special and exclusive and not something that was going to get sullied with a girl trying to worm her way in unknowingly. 

“I—you, uh,” he floundered, trying to think of a way to turn her down gently. Where the heck did she think Hanzo was right now anyway to be sneaking in here?

“Good, you’re awake. Follow me,” she whispered loudly, heading back to the door. Jesse breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he had totally misread the situation. He got up and grabbed his gun belt before following her down the stairs and out the back door. 

“What in the world is he doing?” she asked, pointing out to where there was the slight shadow lump of Hanzo in the desert. 

“Wha—mindin’ his own, like you should be doin’. Why you up anyway? It’s dark as tar out,” he retorted, nudging her back to the door. He should actually be relieved, he reasoned, considering she had decided to tattle on Hanzo instead of going out and distracting him. 

“I was just going to the outhouse. You have to go whenever you have to go. But why’s he just out there in the middle of the night? That’s weird,” she continued.

“Give the man some privacy.”

“What’s he doing all alone here anyway, did something sad happen? He used to have a big family.”

“I just—wait, what?”

She held up a piece of paper. Jesse couldn’t see what was on it due to the darkness, but judging by the size it was the photograph that had been residing on the stool in the other room. 

“Hey,” he snatched it out of her hand and placed his unoccupied one on her shoulder to push her toward her room. “It’s late. I’m tired. You should be tired. Hanzo is a closed topic now. Go to bed and stay there ‘til there’re sunbeams.” 

He didn’t let go until she was inside the door to the bedroom. 

“Good night,” she called out innocently as Jesse moved back up the stairs. 

 

****************************

 

“But do you have any horses? I want to travel as fast as I can. I have a long distance to get back to my poor family. Every day I’m gone is more worry for them.”

Jesse didn’t want to admit it to himself, but her reasoning hit a little close to home and it urged him to do what he could to lend a hand. They had initially planned on sending her off with the wagon and oxen that she had arrived with. But it was true that a horse could go faster. 

“We only got two, mine and his,” Jesse explained. He took a sip of coffee, considering the situation. 

“I guess…I could take you to the closest town, at least. What’d he say, ‘bout three days? You’d have to see ‘bout gettin’ yer own horse then, though. But someone there would likely be sympathetic. But that’s the best I could do, I ain’t partin’ with mine an’ neither is Hanzo with his.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you!” 

“Y’hear?” Jesse called out over his shoulder at Hanzo, who was out on the back porch fixing an arrow. He didn’t even look up at Jesse, just giving one short nod in response. He wasn’t happy about him leaving. 

“Well it’s only getting brighter, pack up and let’s go.”

Jesse agreed to that logic, and got some supplies together fairly quickly. It felt a little strange to finally be heading back out of the town, even if it was temporary. He didn’t want to head out without a better goodbye, and sent Felipa to finish getting Quickspit ready and bring him out. He walked over to where Hanzo was still sitting and sat down next to him.

“I’ll be back in a few days,” he confirmed. He had realized that Hanzo couldn’t know for sure if Jesse was planning on heading out on his own after dropping Felipa off. Hanzo didn’t respond. 

Jesse leaned in closer, the rim of his hat poking Hanzo. “What, no kiss goodbye?” Hanzo pushed him away by the cheek as his eyes darted toward the stable before falling back to his arrow. 

“There’s someone nearby,” he reminded.

“Mm, maybe I don’t care.”

“Maybe you should.”

“…fine. But then you owe me extra when I get back.”

Hanzo clicked his tongue in a chiding way. 

Felipa came out of the stable with Quickspit behind her. Jesse patted Hanzo on the back before getting up and mounting his horse. He helped pull his guest up too, and they headed around the home toward the open desert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next couple of chapters might be a little longer of a wait. I'm gonna try to get my computer fixed and I have family visiting soon. But I'll try to keep 'em coming! And thank you guys who've left sweet comments, it makes my day!


	11. Jesse and Jill Went Up the Hill

Jesse sat on his saddle, reins in hand, looking out at the desert around him. His horse stood still under him, waiting for a command to move. Some skinny clouds made their slow crawl across the sky. On the ground, a lizard ran over open ground in a quick frenzy, instinctually aware of the dangers of its environment. It raced over loose dirt before reaching a small shelter where it took refuge under. What kept Jesse’s attention was that shelter, which was unmistakably a human skull. It lay still on the ground, an eerie reminder of anyone’s mortality. Formerly connected bones lay beside it, under rags of their remaining clothes, turned bland light colors by the sun. 

Spread out in the area were more skeletons. A wagon and luggage sat in the dirt, also worn by time and sunshine. He counted nine bodies. Nine. Not all the bones were together as full skeletons. Wildlife had had a feast to enjoy, and the scattered bones were evidence of the squabbling that had taken place. But it was easy enough to see by the size of bones and the tattered clothes that these had mainly been women and children. 

They had made great progress in their traveling by horseback so far for the day, but they were still only on their first day of the trip out. There wasn’t any denying that this must have been related to the fighting in the ghost town. With how quickly things aged in the desert, it was hard to guess how long bones had been just bones, but Jesse estimated that they had been there for a while. And if they were still relatively close to town, they couldn’t have gone unnoticed by residents, surely. 

He had hoped, even if it didn’t mean anything to him, that the issue for the original residents had been a contained one. A certain guy or two or three had had some issue with another certain guy or two or three. Maybe it got a little messier than that even, if anyone else had ended up getting involved. But these were women and children. This had been some sort of dirty, undeniably cruel business. It was no wonder no one had gone back to the town since first abandoning it. The situation had been irreversibly dangerous and terrible. 

“Jesse, come on,” the young woman sitting behind him on the horse spoke up, pulling him from his cloud of thoughts. She tugged on his sleeve. “Let’s get going.” 

That was easy enough for him to oblige to. He commanded his horse forward before an actual chill could run down his spine. 

 

**************************

 

“Pass it on up,” Jesse said, reaching out a hand behind him. Felipa handed him the canteen that she’d gotten from the supplies to drink from. He moved it around in his hand to see how much water was still left inside. It was a little emptier than he would have liked considering the distance they still had to cross. But they had more containers too, so he wasn’t concerned. He brought it to his mouth and took just enough to coat the inside and feel rehydrated before passing it back for her to rest back in its place. 

Quickspit walked below him, keeping up a nice steady pace and appearing pretty comfortable despite the load he carried and the bright sun. They had been making their way up a giant rocky hill without any previously made trail, as far as Jesse could find. It hadn’t been too steep of an incline, so Jesse had prodded him on instead of looking for a more level path. The rocky outcropping spread out a good measure on each side, and he didn’t want to use up that time to go around. 

A nudge at his side alerted him to his other travel companion running a finger over the handle of Peacekeeper. 

“A little fancy, huh? Where do you get a gun like this?”

“Passed down from my Pa. Don’t mess with it.”

He felt it leave his holster. 

“Hey!”

“I’ve never held one before. How far does it shoot?”

“Far enough. Put it back, kid.” 

She didn’t oblige immediately. Jesse wasn’t a fan of anyone getting too handsy on his revolver, much less someone who was honestly somewhat obnoxious and nosy. She held out the gun to their side as if aiming at a pretend target in the distance. 

“Come on,” he said, beginning to reach back for it. A terrified shriek came from her and stopped Jesse. He whipped his head around to look for a threat but wasn’t seeing anything. He did however see Peacekeeper sail through the air, having been released the direction opposite Felipa had been pointing it. It began tumbling back down the rocky hill that they had just nearly finished climbing. He didn’t hold back a cuss. 

“I’m sorry, I thought I saw a snake!” she explained while Jesse rushed to get out of the saddle and, ignoring the potential threat of a snake, bolt down the hill after Peacekeeper. It didn’t appear to be finding a quick stop. He would tell her to go after it herself to make up for the dumb mistake, but it was his gun of all things, and he wasn’t inclined to let her stupid fingers on it for a moment longer. 

He struggled to race down the angled hillside without tripping, focusing on keeping his feet under himself. He was just about caught up with his gun when it did end up happening, and he tucked himself into a roll to soften the blow as he hit the ground. His revolver smacked him in the face as it now caught up with him, but he grabbed ahold of it before it could continue down. He holstered his prize before getting up and dusting himself off. He walked over and picked his hat off the ground where it had fallen and placed it on his head before looking back up the hill. He had a good chunk of the way to climb back up on his own, but having a little time wasted was still better than going all the way around the outcropping, at least. 

He started his way back up, following the path that Quickspit had taken mostly but also climbing over shortcuts that the horse hadn’t been able to go up. He heard something up above him, almost like a little trembling sound. He paused and listened. It sounded…rocky? He looked around him, but there wasn’t any movement. He couldn’t even see the flick of his horse’s tail over the highest edge of the hill. Wait. No. No no no no no no. 

Jesse scrambled up the incline, rushing back to the top, which still took a good bit longer than he would have liked. When he hauled himself over the surface, scrapes from the climbing ignored, he found himself alone at the top of the hill. He ran to the other end and found the two on their way down the other side. 

“Hey!” he shouted, more out of anger than actual hope that she would listen. She didn’t, not even turning around to acknowledge that she heard him. She was busy bracing herself in the saddle and coaxing his horse down the hill as quick as he could go. They were already a good way down from where Jesse stood at the top. And unless he wanted to let himself go rolling down another hard hillside and ignore the physical consequences, which he couldn’t, he wasn’t going to be catching up. If she had really planned out this whole maneuver however, then she underestimated Jesse. She could send him running down the other side, but he was quick and was now watching her trying to make a getaway while he had Peacekeeper back at his side. 

He had been lucky that she didn’t feel like trying out the gun herself and just killing him, but he wasn’t about to let her be so lucky when she was taking his means of travel. He held his gun up with his unbandaged left hand, and found the gun refusing to fire at her. He slid open the cylinder and found each chamber empty. She hadn’t had the gun out of his sight for more than a moment, and had managed to silently slip out his bullets. He reached down to his extra bullets in his belt and still came up empty. He stood in stunned silence for a long moment, bewildered by how she managed to sneak her way to all of his ammunition. He glanced around the top of the hill, not finding a good fist-sized rock to chuck down at her. She was already getting out of his range anyway, kicking his…her…horse faster. Jesse let himself breathe out some more colorful language. He stood helplessly as he watched the young woman ride off. So that was the end of Quickspit. 

He allowed himself another minute to fume on top of the outcropping as he watched them ride away before turning back in the direction they had come. She had some idea of what he could be capable of. She wasn’t going to let him catch up. And he was back to being in the wilderness with no supplies. He gave in to the situation and headed back toward the ghost town. It was still the closest one around. 

 

**************************

 

The light peaking over the horizon line to Jesse’s left mocked him. The sky had begun to lighten, just barely, and color was starting to bloom over the left portion as the sun approached. That stupid sun that had given him such a hard time yesterday was now making the dark world more beautiful around him as if it made up for the past problem. A turkey vulture flew high overhead. It also seemed to mock Jesse’s situation of pounding one sore foot in front of the other as he trudged back to safety. Judging by the turkey vulture’s circling, it seemed to think that he wouldn’t make it. If he had a bullet on him, he would lodge it in the bird’s head out of spite. 

But the walking through the night had paid off, and the town spread out before him. Not welcomingly, his fresh memories of the bones prevented that. He had made sure, despite his motivation to get back as soon as possible, to give them plenty of space as he’d walked through that area. In the dead of night, he had also almost stopped to rest when his boot found something in another area than looked suspiciously like more bone. The potential of another discovered victim drove him on. But in return, he now got to walk among the buildings and head to the one still being lived in. 

He managed to get the water pump going despite his energy being so spent, and drank deeply before a quick wipe down that took at least the outermost layer of grime off. He headed in through the back door and trudged up the stairs, which judging by the little bit of sunlight Hanzo must have climbed just recently himself. He opened up the bedroom door and dropped his hat and shoes off to the side. Too tired to think about how presumptuous it was for him to be in Hanzo’s room instead of his own, he climbed into the bed from the end and dropped himself facedown in-between the lump making up Hanzo under his covers and the wall. Hanzo woke with a start, too exhausted himself to be woken by the house entry until Jesse had plunked down beside him. The peak of sunlight and candle lit near the bed gave just enough help in identifying each other. 

“Jesse? What—why are you back?” he mumbled, gaze fixed but voice still sleepy. Jesse turned his head without getting up to look at Hanzo. He stared back at him. The bed felt amazing underneath him. 

“She stole my horse,” he said plainly.

Through the dark, Hanzo lay still for a long moment. Jesse saw him shift lightly and heard a huffy chuckle escape his nose before it turned into honest, real giggling. 

Jesse had had a terrible past day, and had not found the situation amusing. Hanzo beside him let his giggle evolve into an all too amused laugh. Jesse felt his own mouth prick upward into a grin as his sweetheart laughed at his trouble. Despite Hanzo’s own desperate want for sleep, he was very clearly enjoying himself right now. Jesse couldn’t help but chuckle along with the contagious laughter. Now that the danger of being stranded was over he let recalling the absurdity of the recent event relax him, aided by Hanzo clearly finding it to be quality entertainment.

“That…that’s sad,” Hanzo managed after they had both gotten a hold on themselves. He couldn’t offer too much, he had clearly been very distrustful of the woman from the beginning, and Jesse’s last interaction with her only proved his stance. But it had caused Jesse a heap of trouble when he had only meant to help a person out despite his own suspicion. 

“I’m tired,” Jesse whined.

“I am too.”

“Let’s just not get up until lunchtime.” 

“That would be wonderful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone say "bye bye Sombra"
> 
>  
> 
> (I did get my computer worked on! And it didn't fix anything. So. *sigh*)


	12. Ever Get That Feeling of Déjà Vu?

Jesse pushed back on his heels, making the rocking chair under him sway back and forth with the force. The motion had a calm, lulling effect. He exhaled a long breath in contentment. The evening stretching out before him had an oddly timed feel to it. Sleeping in for so long had changed the pace of the rest of the day. Despite having slept until just a few hours ago, his body was confused by the schedule change and wanted to fall back into bed. But the weariness in his bones felt more like a comfort than a problem. 

He was relaxed to be back here and able to take his time. When he had left the day before, it had been a spur of the moment decision. He hadn’t mentally prepared to finally leave the town, except for the occasional wonder of when the appropriate time would be. Yesterday he hadn’t really worried over it. But getting out into the desert, the distance that he had been putting between himself and Hanzo had started to sink in. Their patterns and actions revolving around working with each other throughout the day had become familiar. Getting to return to that so soon felt a little like he had stepped a foot into a world without Hanzo and yanked it back out.

That was the more romantic side of the situation, at least. The reason for his leaving and returning presented a lot of questions that he and Hanzo were trying to work out now. Hanzo sat near him in the other rocking chair on the front porch, but kept it steady unlike Jesse’s slow rocking. He had been quiet for a stretch of time now, working the situation over in his head. Jesse swatted a gnat away lazily. 

“The men…that she came with,” Hanzo started again, “do not appear to be anything other than we first expected. But all she said about herself was probably lies. She may be inclined toward similar things than they were.”

“Bounty money,” Jesse elaborated, following along.

“Yes.”

Jesse didn’t like to think about how likely that was to be true. With those men gone, whatever business had gone bad between her and them was out, but coming across Jesse and Hanzo had opened up new potential. She wasn’t likely to know of anyone looking for Hanzo, he had laid low well through his stay in America. But she knew of the bounty on Jesse McCree, one of the men had mentioned it in front of her. And even if she was just after him, any action that brought someone to Jesse would also get Hanzo caught in the mix and discovered by people he may be hiding from himself. 

He couldn’t come up with any other reason why she would let him be left behind alive. His experiences with stealing horses told him that the owner needed to not be around, either by proximity or by death. But she’d just left him stranded out in the open. She didn’t come across as the type to feel morally compelled to keep people alive. She knew his best destination choice would be back in the ghost town. It would be easy enough for her to come back with help and take the two on, now that she knew where they were. 

But there was also the question of why she didn’t just wait until they got to the town they’d been headed toward. Couldn’t it be easy enough to alert whatever authority was around behind his back once they were actually there? It was a question they’d been mulling over through the afternoon. 

“She could not go there, to the town,” Hanzo reasoned, following the same train of thought. “If other people are after her, they might be there.”

Silence fell again for a minute.

“You think she’s got a hideout, or what? ‘Cause if not she’d have a heckuva time gettin’ anywhere else.” 

Hanzo rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. He was always tired, today was no different. 

“She could still sneak in in the dark, but that would not be possible if you were with her. You would have known she was wanted.” 

“So…leave me here, stop by there on her own terms, then hide there or head off to wherever.”

“Mm.”

“Which, if she knows anyone there, would still give her a chance to rat out my position to them while she lays low.”

Hanzo rested his chin in his hand. 

“A planned attack would be difficult to deal with. It is not as simple as dealing with someone who just wanders in.”

“So…” Jesse trailed off, not liking where the conversation was going. They had stepped around the topic a little bit already as they’d gone over the situation again and again. But time was passing and she was just getting further away, and if they were going to do anything then it was better to decide soon.

“I do not want to leave,” Hanzo affirmed. Which shot down the option that they hop on the remaining horse and leave the area together. But the next best option wasn’t favorable. “Will you follow after her?” Hanzo asked. Jesse sighed.

“…I mean…,” he thought it over again. If there was going to be trouble coming for him, then she would want to act pretty quickly to ensure that he wouldn’t have time to run. If he headed out toward where he was originally going to take her, he might meet up with her and whoever else on the way. Without even a horse, he’d be at a disadvantage. There were the oxen, who could make the actual trip easier, but horses could overtake a wagon. But if he altogether ditched that town and headed anywhere else, that would be leaving Hanzo alone to meet whatever possible trouble. That wouldn’t be fair. He ran his fingers through his hair and groaned. Despite the soreness in his right hand, it was still soothing to run his fingers that were temporarily unbandaged through something soft. 

Maybe…maybe it would be best just to stay. If she did have plans for Jesse, which wasn’t certain in any case, then two to take her on would be better than one. And they knew the nooks and crannies of town. And they had a spirit dragon nearby. But…there was still the risk that came with Hanzo being involved that he could get hurt. Jesse wasn’t sure how he’d handle that if it happened in a situation like this. He had earned that poster with a high price on him, he had to admit to that. If those actions got the man he had fallen for injured, that’d paint guilt over his soul permanently. Things had changed in the past weeks. Before, his mistakes were majorly his own. He might have caused annoyance from his family and hometown friends for going down a path they didn’t agree with, but there hadn’t been any direct danger that they were put in because of it. But if he wanted some sort of future with Hanzo, whatever that might be exactly, then the troubles of their pasts would be shared. 

He was well aware of the things he’d done that would keep him up for a while on the bad nights. He didn’t want his past to keep more nights with Hanzo from happening. He wanted to hide away with him. He wanted Hanzo to find Genji, if he was alive after all. He wanted Hanzo to stop dealing with his own heavy guilt and find him, or at least find peace, and be able to actually get a whole night of rest for once. 

He leaned over and put his face in his hands. He wanted so much that he didn’t necessarily deserve. And there was no clear best answer to his current predicament. He just wanted to drop the whole thing and forget about it and think about anything else. He breathed in and out slowly, the sound muffled through his hands. 

“Hey, hold up,” he said after a minute or two, jerking his head up and standing up from his chair. He stepped over toward Hanzo’s.

“Hm?”

“You still got yer debt to pay me.”

“M—what?” Hanzo asked, not catching on. Jesse dropped himself onto Hanzo’s lap and reached an arm around the back of the chair that rocked back with the added weight. 

“Didn’t I say you would owe me?” Jesse smirked.

“You…cannot be serious. You are thinking about that right now?” 

“Mmmm,” Jesse dropped his head closer.

“You are ridiculous,” Hanzo scolded before giving in. And there it was again, that feeling of belonging that came when they got this close. There was a feeling in the motions, subtle, but present. It felt almost like a sort of desperation to engage with each other, even when going slowly. Jesse had been without this sort of bond for so long, and Hanzo must have been the same way by the mutual comfort it gave them. 

It really wasn’t a good time to be engaging in this way, Jesse could admit to that. But he needed a break from the stress and if this didn’t help then at least it would fog his head in a more pleasurable way. It wasn’t the first time that he had resorted to using their intimacy to comfort himself. On days when he missed other familiar faces or the unpleasant atmosphere of the town got to him, he could pull Hanzo over to remind him what he had in front of him. 

Alternatively, he noticed Hanzo had a fairly different approach to their relationship, or at least the intimacy involved in it. As with how he felt about anything, it was swayed easily with the ever present guilt of his fight with his brother. Some days were good, and he could enjoy himself and laugh and even make the first move on Jesse. On bad days, when the weight of his problems was too heavy on his mind, he would close himself off. He seemed to carry guilt over into his relationship with Jesse, thinking that he didn’t deserve what they had started to build. Jesse had quickly learned to be careful about what he said and what topics he brought up on the good days, as well as be mindful on the bad days. He had made the mistake, more than once even, of pushing Hanzo to not spend so long out at night. One of the times in particular he had pressured too much, and Hanzo had turned on him. 

‘Do not make me choose between you and finding my brother, Jesse. I will choose my brother.’ He could still feel the venom beneath the words, from a hurt snake fearfully defending itself. He had always meant well when trying to get Hanzo to sleep more, but he’d learned to back off considering Hanzo was so touchy about the subject. 

But today was a good day. Not just for Hanzo but both of them. It had been relaxing to be back side by side, or more currently face to face. And troubles lay ahead of them, but they were both content enough at the moment to brush their lips together and share this. All spats aside, they still had this. 

“I think…,” Hanzo said as he pulled away, “If you wanted to…you may take my horse.”

“You—” Jesse exclaimed at him over still thinking about all that, before he fully processed what he said. Hanzo needed his horse. He had always been very careful with it. It was his way to travel once he found Genji. Genji, the brother he was so sensitive about and would do anything to get back to. 

“But, darlin’,” he said, conflicted. He didn’t want to jeopardize Hanzo reaching Genji if the possibility was there, but Hanzo being willing to send his horse off with Jesse showed without words how strongly Hanzo felt back for Jesse. It also cemented that Hanzo did not think that Jesse heading back toward the town was too bad an idea, which Jesse hated to agree with.

“There are still the oxen here. I have a way to get around if I need to,” Hanzo reasoned. Quiet stretched between them. Jesse rested his forehead against Hanzo’s and ran a thumb across his bottom lip. Hanzo reached up and inspected the scarring on his fingers. He had taken good care of them, but Jesse’s habit of taking on all the harder work hadn’t given them an easy time to heal. Jesse placed a gentle kiss on Hanzo’s forehead. 

“Thank you,” he managed. 

****************************

Something moved across Jesse’s arm and brought him out of his sleep. He lay still as he came to. His head was pushed up against Hanzo’s neck and his arm stretched over his bedmate’s chest. Hanzo’s own arm rested on his, and he was running his thumb over it gently. It was a beautiful way to start the morning. He breathed in a deep breath and held it for a moment before breathing it back out comfortably. The thumb running across his arm stopped and he felt Hanzo’s head tilt lightly.

“Are you awake, Jesse?” he asked softly.

“Mrmmm,” he responded. 

“…we should get up then. You have a long day ahead.”

Jesse made an indignant sound. He shoved his nose further under Hanzo’s chin. Being reminded of his plans didn’t make getting up seem like a good idea, it made it seem worse. He didn’t want to move on from this. Hanzo may have actually only let him back into his bed last night because they were both quietly sad over parting again, but whatever the case was he wanted to milk the situation for all it was worth. 

“Later,” he muttered. After a long moment Hanzo rested his head again, giving in. Jesse relaxed and fell back into sleep, ignoring the tickling from Hanzo’s long hair. 

He came to again a while later with a more insistent shake from Hanzo. He groaned and rubbed his eyes before opening them all the way. Hanzo stood beside the bed, already dressed and ready for the day. Jesse blinked. He hadn’t expected to stay asleep if Hanzo got up, but apparently he had drifted back into a deeper slumber than he’d anticipated. 

“Breakfast is ready, you should come down,” Hanzo stated. He folded the sheet and blanket Jesse had been using down to the end of the bed so that he wouldn’t be able to hide under them. Jesse gave in and pulled himself up, swinging his feet over the side of the bed as Hanzo went back to the door. 

He had intended to sleep in together, and get up before Hanzo. He had taken to making sure he was the first up each morning, getting breakfast ready for when Hanzo came down. It was a responsibility he had taken on after learning how little sleep Hanzo got. He felt a little guilty for shirking that job today. 

He plodded down to his room and changed his clothes before heading to the back for breakfast. They ate quietly today. Hanzo occasionally said something about the trip as things came to mind. Jesse didn’t respond much, already regretting deciding on this course of action. He packed a little more slowly this time around just to delay the inevitable, but soon enough Hanzo’s horse was packed and waiting out front and he couldn’t come up with anything else to hinder his trip further. He walked back out the front door and down the porch to where Hanzo stood with his horse. 

It really had been easier the first time around when there had been someone else nearby to keep them from getting too personal. Now that the goodbye could stretch on, it did, because neither wanted to face it. Jesse took hold of the reins but didn’t move to mount. Before, this was when he had told Hanzo that he would be back soon. But this time felt different. The first time leaving had been to send off a supposedly innocent person to get her out of their hair. Now, Jesse was leaving to see if there was danger coming for him, and if there was, to confront it. Whatever the situation could be if things got ugly, he couldn’t guarantee that he would be back. 

“I uh…,” he adjusted his hat and scratched his head. “Look, I…don’t rightly know what’s goin’ on from here…” 

Hanzo stood still beside him with a closed off expression that he had sometimes when he was trying to act responsible. His eyes flicked down almost shyly. 

“I…have not minded the company,” he said, downplaying his emotions. 

“I do want to meet up again,” Jesse affirmed. “I mean if things get busy for us both, at least you know where my hometown is, huh? If you can find that again?” The humor fell flat in the heavy atmosphere. “Goodness gracious. Hanzo, I…” Jesse rubbed his face anxiously, then stepped closer and put his hand behind Hanzo’s head, pulling him in for a kiss. It was bittersweet. Nice, but not nice in a way that actually relieved Jesse’s nerves. He pulled back, aware that it wouldn’t help to draw it out. 

“I love you,” he said soulfully. “I wouldn’t feel right ‘bout goin’ now without tellin’ you that. I just need you to know it.”

The words took a moment to sink in before Hanzo gave a subtle nod. Jesse didn’t expect him to say anything of the sort back. Not that he didn’t feel that way. He certainly seemed to at times. But Hanzo was considerably less vocal about his feelings. To be fair, it was a little quick for Jesse to be saying it in the first place. Hanzo dropped his head down again and clenched his jaw, similarly to occasions when they had begun to act close and he’d closed himself off when his guilt came rushing back. If Jesse were to guess though, this time the situation seemed difficult for different reasons. 

“Be safe,” Hanzo whispered. 

“I’ll try,” Jesse promised. 

Silence started to stretch out again between them, when Hanzo raised his hands and waved them as if to send away the moment. 

“You must leave. It is time,” he reasoned. Jesse reached up but Hanzo stepped away. He motioned to his horse to tell Jesse to get on. Jesse obliged, and Hanzo walked onto the front porch of the house. The horse anticipated the trek ahead and started walking forward without being prompted. 

“I don’t intend this to be our last, darlin’,” Jesse said, looking behind him at the sad man he was leaving behind. Hanzo watched him head away, but didn’t reply.

As Jesse rode toward the edge of town, part of him was pushing to just turn back. But potential trouble was potential trouble that he needed to get away from Hanzo, and he kept their horse moving forward. Once he got out into the open desert, he managed to push some of his sharp emotions aside and focus on what lay ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this one, and for the waiting to come. My schedule's gotten busy what with the new semester approaching fast and me busily packing to transfer to a university across the country. Wish me luck!


	13. Deadeye's Dead End

Jesse prodded his horse forward down the street. People walked or rode around, tending to business or hanging out under porch overhangs to escape direct sunlight. He hadn’t so much as hesitated to enter the town when it finally came into view. Spending enough days low on water and even lower on food brought his caution down. He headed around town a little bit searching for Felipa, and eyeing the people he passed by. But the emptiness in his stomach demanded attention. 

“Well if it ain’t McCree,” came a voice. Looking to his side, he was met by Emil Carrigan walking his own horse out onto the street. Jesse pulled on his reins to let him catch up and dismounted. 

“Weren’t you headin’ way back East? How’d you get word so quick?”

“Word o’ what?” Jesse eyed him suspiciously. 

“Meetin’ back up. You bring Rob with ya, too? Ya’ll’re from the same place, right?” 

“…nah, he ain’t with me. I’m here on my own business.”

“Oh.” Emil gave him a look down. “You just get in, I’m guessin’? You look it.”

Jesse snorted and started leading his horse away. 

“Hey now, hey,” Emil walked after him and kept trying to converse. “You eat yet? Just got somethin’ myself. Got in earlier today.”

“Why? You offerin’ to pay?”

“Surely you got money on yerself.”

“Nah,” Jesse lied. 

“Ugh. Fine. Only ‘cause I don’t want you runnin’ and tattlin’ on me to boss when we get back together. Overprotective over his dead shot.” 

“Maybe you should just learn to aim better.”

Emil begrudgingly led the way to the town store and got Jesse some canned food while Jesse snuck some water from someone’s pump. They met up and leaned against a side wall of the store. 

“So. Gang’s already gettin’ back together, huh?” Jesse hid the tension in his jaw by shoveling food in. 

“‘Already’? Been what, over a month? Nearin’ two? It’s about time.”

“Hm.”

“Been enjoying the break, I guess? What’ve you been up to?” 

Jesse swallowed another mouthful, and took time to run his tongue over his teeth to get remaining bits while thinking how to explain. There was the whole ordeal with Rojo and the train and taking care of that guy who was after Sanchez. But he elected to just explain that whole night later when it became more relevant. Emil would want every detail and Jesse didn’t feel like going over it all just then. But the question remained. 

“Hey, you… You ain’t been here long, but you see a young woman ‘round here? ‘Bout yea tall, Hispanic, hair down to here, li’l nicks in her eyebrows?”

“Aw, you runnin’ after a lost love, searchin’ all the way to Cambio? Who’da thought.” 

“Ha HA HA,” Jesse exclaimed, then coughed through the food he had just put in his mouth as it slipped near his throat without being chewed. 

“No no,” he breathed as he saved himself from his gag reflex, “Nah, think she might wanna turn me in. Knows I’m wanted.” 

“Ohh. Huh, guess that figures, you always came across a bit—” Emil wiggled his hand like he wasn’t sure what word was appropriate. Oh great, Jesse had specifically lead the conversation away from the type of companionship he liked and it found its way there anyway. 

“So? She around?”

“Mm,” Emil tilted his head back, thinking. “No, no faces comin’ to mind. Town seems to get some travelers, but it’s pretty white considering the area.”

“…huh.” Jesse managed. He wasn’t sure how to take that. He knew it might not be easy to get answers going in, but it would have been nicer if it had happened to be. But in any case, if some of Deadlock was around, they could help if trouble happened here. But if Deadlock was here, then he wasn’t going to be away from them again soon. So…if anyone was after him here, at least they could deal with it…because if not, there could instead be trouble going back to the ghost town. Jesse realized he was glaring into his can, but his frustration with the situation felt justified. He finished the food off, relieving one of the pits in his stomach. 

Emil folded his arms and opened his mouth to talk again when a loud bang sounded from down the street. They both flinched, recognizing the sound of a gunshot. Some screams came from startled residents. The can fell from Jesse’s hands, one of which moved to hover over Peacekeeper. 

“How many other guys’re here already?” he asked. Some of the people in Deadlock could be quick tempered and not unlikely to draw without orders. That seemed the most likely situation if Deadlock was involved in the gunfire. 

“Just a few here,” Emil said, checking his gun ammunition. He looked to check on Jesse before they both walked out from between the buildings onto the edge of the street. 

People were running away from the direction of the gunshot, hectic and scrambling into buildings. It reminded Jesse of the animals back home getting spooked by thunder and lightning. Over a few bobbing heads, he recognized the face of John Sullivan coming their way. They both moved toward him as they spotted him at the same time. Next to John was Antonio. They both had a wild look in their eyes, but neither were the type to make trouble when it wasn’t necessary. And in any case, they didn’t look like they were moving toward anyone in particular. Behind them, a stranger stepped out into the street and raised a rifle up to his line of sight toward the grouping of Deadlock members now in his view. 

Jesse reflexively flinched away and fell back in the direction of the alley. A second loud bang sounded and Antonio lurched on his leg and fell. But two other armed people were stepping out of buildings even closer to them, and Jesse headed for cover instead of running to Antonio. He ran between buildings and turned away from the direction that more guns were now going off in. He checked behind him for pursuers as he ran to get some distance. Emil hadn’t even followed him back around; he was running alone behind buildings. The weariness in his muscles from his long ride made him slower, but the adrenaline pumping through him helped him stay alert and get behind a large shed unseen. On the other side it looked out onto a good portion of the street that the gun fight was now happening on. 

Jesse leaned back against the shed to catch his breath. His stomach felt upset by how quickly he’d eaten and his running around right after. He pulled Peacekeeper out of his holster as he realized it’d be better to go into a gun fight with his dominant hand. He crouched down and set his revolver in the dirt so he could untie the bandaging on his hand. He tugged at the ends of the strip. It stayed tightly tied together. Having only his left hand to work it loose didn’t help. He started to yank at the bandage harder and more desperately. Another shot fired somewhere in front of the shed. He cussed and took Peacekeeper up in his left hand again. Hanzo tied knots too well, it would have to do. 

He took a breath in to steady himself before leaning around the corner of the shed. The streets had cleared out. He could see John from his angle crouching behind some barrels. But three of the group, whoever they were, were moving toward him aware of his position. Jesse dropped two to the ground and spun back behind the shed. Despite the weeks of practice with his left, his aiming was still definitely slower. He didn’t want the others to pin down his position if he could pick off a couple at a time sneakily. He gave it a moment before he leaned out just enough that he could peek at the action. Emil stepped out from a hiding spot and shot at a building not far from Jesse. He couldn’t see who he was aiming at by the angle, but there was a light thud that suggested Emil had hit his target. 

Jesse’s eyes flashed back to Emil in time to catch the moment a bullet shot into his torso. He gave an alarming cry before hitting the ground himself. The barrel of the offending rifle moved from a broken window and the man who had first shot Antonio in the leg stepped out of the building. He began walking to where John was hiding. Jesse gritted his teeth. He stepped out away from the shed again and lifted his revolver back out in front of him. An odd brushing sound came from above him, and he just had time to catch a glimpse of shadow and begin to tilt his head up when a heavy weight fell on top of him. 

Whoever it was that just dropped onto him, they weighed enough to slam him into the dirt below and knock the air out of his lungs. A pathetic gasp was all he managed once he could recognize what happened. His ribs hurt, but no spot in particular was bad enough to immediately suspect cracks. 

“Stay down,” came an offputtingly commanding voice. Jesse’s gut instinct was to disobey. The man behind Jesse rested a knee on his back as he sat up. Jesse sucked in a deeper breath and flicked his eyes around until they landed on Peacekeeper lying on the ground about a yard to his left. He checked back up at the action down the street, and couldn’t see anyone from his gang. Several strangers with guns remained. Whoever these people were, they had known that Deadlock would be getting together here. Jesse was really out of the loop if there were even new enemies that knew his gang’s activities better than he did. The young woman flashed into his mind. Could she have something to do with them? But she appeared to be hiding from someone as well, and she would’ve had hardly any time to get in touch with whoever these people were, so it would be unlikely. 

A metal jingle behind him alerted him to the fact that the man on top of him had a pair of handcuffs on his person. Panic rushed across Jesse’s features and he shoved himself up and forward, tucking himself into a roll as the man was preoccupied. He grabbed Jesse’s left forearm, but Jesse ignored the pain of twisting his arm around in order to reach for his gun. The man pulled him down on his butt, and Jesse reached out with his leg and managed to nudge Peacekeeper closer. They both reached for it, but Jesse kicked a spurred heel into his enemy’s hand and got possession of the gun. 

The man lunged again onto Jesse’s back, holding on. Jesse flicked his wrist back to pistol whip the man but just barely clipped the side of his head. He tried to overpower him and get himself onto his own feet, but the man was too strong. He reached up a black boot and stepped on Jesse’s revolver, holding it down. Jesse yanked at it fruitlessly, but stopped when he felt the metal of another gun against the back of his head. 

“Give it a rest, kid,” the man threatened gruffly. Frustration over the situation blinded Jesse for a long moment, but he realized the man had no qualms about ending his life right there, so he relented his hold on his gun. 

“Good,” the man answered, pulling Jesse’s right hand back down and resting his wrists into the handcuffs with expert speed. 

“Another one alive?” asked someone walking over to the shed. Jesse turned his head around in the dirt to see the man with the rifle. He looked too well-groomed in his neatly kept blue button-up and clean-shaven face to have just taken down his comrades like that. 

“Jesse McCree,” came the hard voice above him. 

The blond tucked his rifle under his arm and felt around in a pocket while he eyed Jesse in an uncomfortable, calculating way. Jesse glared daggers back at him. The man found what he was searching for and pulled out a round badge. Jesse didn’t recognize the design, but the man held it up like it was some kind of fancy organization. They had been able to surprise attack Deadlock, so Jesse was inclined to believe it. 

“Jesse James McCree, you’re under arrest. Follow our instructions and we won’t execute you immediately,” the man stated matter-of-factly. Jesse glowered at him as the other man pulled him onto his feet. He almost didn’t want to be upright now. He’d rather stay sprawled out in the dirt than stuck with whatever these guys were about to do to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being patient about this chapter, guys. I'm successfully across the country now and ready for classes to start next week. I can't even get into my apartment until a week into classes, so life is going to continue to be hectic, but I haven't forgotten this story! I'm still working, it's just slow going.  
> (writing this chapter took place little by little throughout moving, which was terrible; but I will say, writing a western while driving through the vast plains of the Midwest was kind of fun in it's own way)


	14. Topsy-Turvy Plans

The air was warm and still. The world felt calm, and the remaining dusk light shined slowly down on the hard dirt below. Jesse walked forward, passing through doors into what should have been a stable, but only led into an expanse of desert. His gaze lowered down to the luminescent blue shape on the ground a few meters away. 

Hanzo was sitting down, looking away from him. It hadn’t been so long since they had met each other, but seeing him aglow once again already felt like a memory coming up from their distant past. Jesse walked over and knelt down at his side. He continued to stare out at the desert, transfixed at the emptiness that lay before him. Jesse reached a hand up and ran free fingers through Hanzo’s hair that was so dark it was like the sky without stars in the dead of night. He brushed the hair behind Hanzo’s ear. It was at that motion that Hanzo finally gave a reaction. He turned and looked over in Jesse’s direction with his piercing eyes. 

“How’s it goin’, Hanzo?” he asked, or tried to, because when he said it, it sounded as though it was being spoken a distance away. It was muffled somehow. 

“Jesse?” Hanzo asked, his tan skin crinkled by his eyes slightly as his gaze grew questioning. 

“Yeah,” Jesse tried again, getting the same result. He reached up to his face to feel for something in the way, but stopped when he discovered the blue glow of his hand. He stood up and stepped back in surprise as he looked down and saw the rest of him in the same condition. It felt unreal to watch the ground below his own feet, his body no longer completely corporeal. He raised his hand back up, looking at the ground through it. He caught sight of Hanzo, the real flesh and blood Hanzo, suddenly off in the distance behind his hand and walking away. 

“Hey!” Jesse called out after him. It sounded like a loud whisper. 

There was a thump, and Jesse fell out of his state of mind. His scrunched his face and the first thing he felt was something hard against his right side. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the stiff bench that he had tucked himself up on the night before. 

He pushed an annoyed breath through his nose and grimaced as he sat upright. His muscles were sore and his head throbbed lightly from the day before as well as his uncomfortable sleeping position. His boots hit the ground without the usual jingle of his spurs that he was so accustomed to. He eyed his boots, before running over the rest of him. His gun belt was gone, he remembered them taking that from him too. There wasn’t much use for it without his revolver anyway. His hat had been lost at some point during his scuffle in the dirt with the man in black. He glanced around the jail cell. They had stuck him inside soon after his capture. They left him behind the weathered bars for a good couple of hours on his own. No one on the other side either, just him alone in the jail house. He had expected his companions to be brought it promptly, or at least whichever ones hadn’t been gunned down. 

It was a surprise to only now be accompanied by Emil, who lay looking rather the worse for wear against the opposite wall. His shirt lay below him, collecting the blood that had been dripping from the hole in his abdomen. Jesse watched the rise and fall of his chest. Judging by the soft morning light shining through the cell window, he had been out since yesterday. He was surprised that Emil had lasted this long. Antonio had been shot in the leg, he had a better chance of making it. Why wasn’t he here? Jesse bit his lower lip, thinking. They could have been keeping other Deadlock members somewhere else. Spreading them out would make planning an attack harder. 

Jesse leaned forward and nudged at Emil with his boot since his hands were still handcuffed behind his back. He might not have been given much to work with in this cell, but he would have to make do. Emil stirred a little before groaning. Jesse couldn’t blame him. 

“Hey,” he shot in a low voice, pulling his companion’s attention away from the pain. 

“Jesse…I’m not doin’ so good,” he muttered. 

“Yeah, I got eyes, I can see that,” he retorted. He motioned with his head for Emil to sit upright, and he did with some effort. 

“I dunno exactly what these people are plannin’ on. They haven’t killed us yet, so they’re probably goin’ for somethin’ a little more formal. But that don’t mean we got much time,” Jesse reasoned. Emil nodded in agreement. “When’re other guys gettin’ here? We got numbers on ‘em I think if we can get together.”

Emil stared for a moment before shaking his head. “No, nah, you misunderstood. This wasn’t the final stop. Few of us were gettin’ together here, but the meeting town was closer to the railroad,” he spoke in a whisper, leaning forward as far as he was able to without more pain. “An’ how ‘bout this,” he brought up, a glint of intrigue in his eyes despite his condition, “Sanchez got together a hidin’ spot for us. Brilliant man, always stayin’ ahead of the danger. These might be the people he heard were on to us back then, come to think of it…” He trailed off, piecing things together in his mind. 

“So…we’re gonna have to find our own way over to that railroad town,” Jesse followed. 

Emil nodded. “Boss was plannin’ on showin’ us the way to the new gang hideout from there. Might be difficult if there’re already coppers around, or whoever these guys are. But apparently it’s this hard to find place, used to be a town. So if we can manage our way, we should be good. You remember earlier this year when Sanchez took that group off and were doin’ their own thing for a bit?”

“Uh-huh.”

“They were clearin’ that place out for us. Didn’t get to use it for a good while, but we will now. Gotta get taken there by the guys who’ve been, it’s kind of out on its own.”

Jesse looked on at Emil, but his focus blurred with the intake of this new knowledge. An out of the way town…months ago… Jesse’s mouth felt dry while a cool sweat formed on his throat and cheeks. His mind brought back the small bones, the blood in the saloon. 

“But never mind that, we have our current problem to deal with first. Seein’ as you’re in better condition, if you have any ideas—hey, Jesse. Said you’re supposed to be in better condition. You’re lookin’ pale, you gotta calm down. Can’t say we’ve been in worse situations, but y’know.”

The doorknob to the jailhouse jiggled, and both sets of eyes darted toward it. In walked the man dressed in black. He had dark skin and hair to match, and a seriousness in his eyes and posture that completed the look. The sight of him brought back more of the day before. After he’d been left alone for some time, he had come in and talked to Jesse for a bit. Jesse hadn’t been keen on spilling anything Deadlock-related. Besides being an enemy, something about how the guy presented himself bugged Jesse. There was a sureness in his movements that reminded him of the government guy on the train. He had been fixated on Felipa when he’d first gotten to town, but it really did make sense that these guys were the train guy’s cohorts instead. But this man’s movements also had almost an arrogance to them, which ticked Jesse off even more. A leaner man followed in behind him with a key in hand and walked over to the jail cell. The door creaked loudly open. 

“Emil Carrigan, come out,” the first guy commanded. 

Emil gave a pathetic huff of laughter before struggling to stand up. He made small steps out of the cell and through the door of the jail. The man with the key, likely someone from the town, locked it back up. The hard-faced man sent a watchful glare back at Jesse that was longer than he would have liked before he followed the others out of the jail. The door shut behind him. 

And Jesse was left alone with his thoughts. The information that Emil had just dropped on him felt worse than the soreness all over. He couldn’t completely believe the bad luck of Deadlock having business with the town that Hanzo was now hiding away in. 

Maybe it wasn’t the same town? The frontier was pretty well stocked nowadays, surely there could have been other towns that didn’t see much coming and going. 

But the nagging in his chest didn’t agree with that hope. 

He leaned far down so that he could rest his head against his knees. 

Things just kept figuring out how to get worse. 

If Deadlock reached that town, there was no way they were going to let some stranger get away alive. But Hanzo still had his dragon around, maybe he would discover them coming and get away. It had been a good lookout before, but Jesse figured that there had been some luck involved in that as well. There were plenty of directions to keep an eye on. Maybe Hanzo had located his brother and wasn’t even there anymore? Jesse knew that that was wishful thinking, too. He didn’t like to admit it to himself, because he liked having hope for Hanzo, but Genji even being alive in the first place seemed unlikely. 

Would Hanzo even try to escape if Deadlock got there? He could be a little overbearingly sure of his archery at times. He might think he stood a chance, not knowing who the people were.

If Jesse could escape this town and meet back up with Deadlock…would they listen if he said Hanzo wasn’t a liability? There was a chance, but Jesse wouldn’t be willing to bet on it. If these guys who were after them were high-up government guys, Sanchez wouldn’t be keen on worrying about anyone else right now too. 

A loud, popping bang from a gun sounded outside. It wasn’t right outside of the jail, but it was close enough that he could feel the reverberation run through him. He held his breath without realizing it for several seconds, listening for anything to follow. Nothing came after that one shot. His gaze was stuck on the door of the jailhouse. There was a lot of thinking he had to do about his next moves with Deadlock, but that wouldn’t even be necessary if he didn’t get out of this situation. 

The cell felt emptier all of a sudden, Emil not there against the opposite wall to help cramp up the space. Jesse’s eyes found the spot of blood on the floor that Emil’s shirt had missed. Then they rested back on the door of the jail. He knew he should’ve been forming some sort of plan, but the situation was sinking in more by the moment and he couldn’t come up with anything. He was handcuffed and unarmed and there were too many of them. It was a few agonizing minutes after the gun shot that the doorknob turned and the door creaked open again. Jesse flinched when it did, and collected himself before anyone could see. 

The same two men came in, the scrawnier one unlocking the cell door once again. It was normal to be hanged for crimes that Deadlock members took part in. It wasn’t always what happened, but it was most common, as far as Jesse had heard. Maybe this just wasn’t meant to be a public execution. 

“Come out, McCree,” ordered the brooding man. Jesse watched him, but he felt his own stare slip from the hardness he had given it before. He clenched his mouth, trying to think. A way out of this, or what their intentions actually were. First off, their intentions must have been to intimidate him. They put him alone with Emil overnight, who was seriously wounded. Their whole actions with him had been to scare Jesse more than anything. They wanted him to see the power they had over him. 

“Now!” the man commanded with more force. Jesse didn’t flinch at that. He breathed in and stood up. His handcuffs jingled behind him as he stepped out. The man took him roughly by the shoulder as he passed through the cell door and pushed him out of the jail in front of him. 

It was early enough that the sun wasn’t beating down painfully. Jesse also felt a chill down his skin though, which might have been playing a part. A couple of people stood near the building, but gave the man space to do his work with Jesse. The man who had taken him down led him around the side of the building, away from the town. The jailhouse was already distanced from most of the town; they were isolated enough to do whatever they wanted without causing too much of a disturbance. The man pushed Jesse onto his knees and took a step back to stare down at him. 

“You’re wanted for quite a number of crimes, Jesse McCree. You’ve made a name for yourself despite being just a kid.”

There it was again, that attitude and condescension. 

“You should be well aware of what normal people who build up society like to do to lowlifes like you since you’ve made a career outta this.”

“Suppose you mean somethin’ like you did to Carrigan, huh?” Jesse was surprised that he managed to put a hint of a sneer in that sentence. 

“What, you think he would’ve lasted much longer?”

He had a point there. Jesse didn’t answer.

“Our objective in coming out here was to wipe out all of you. Deadlock’s been going on long enough.”

“If y’all’re such a fancy organization, why ain’t you bein’ more productive yourselves and helpin’ out with all the politics back on the East coast?”

“Everyone has their specialties, kid. Ours include taking out fools like you who think you can get by under government watch.” 

“Well it’s mighty unfortunate to be me, then, huh?”

“Yeah,” the man agreed as he reached into his coat and pulled out a shotgun. He looked at it thoughtfully, and Jesse thought back on his regrets to not go back home when he could have. The man raised the gun out to his side instead of at Jesse, eyeing the distance as if pretending to aim at something. 

“You use your right hand, kid?”

“…what?”

“Answer the question.”

“…yeah?”

“You were using your left yesterday. How badly did you hurt your right?”

“…pretty bad. It should be about healed now.”

The man turned his attention from his gun back to Jesse, giving him a stare that suggested he was searching for something in Jesse’s face. 

“You got a wicked aim for using the wrong hand, kid.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’m kinda known for my aim. Supposed you woulda heard about it already.”

“Don’t sass me, brat. I’m your only chance.”

Jesse scrunched his face up. Only chance?

The man squatted down in front of Jesse, still looming over him in an off-putting way. 

“We came to kill the lot of you. Would’ve felt pretty good getting a bullet in each and every one of you. Morrison especially didn’t want to change plans, strict as he is following orders. But I figure I can use you. Your life is lookin’ bleak. You’re well enough to travel back and stand trial. You’re lookin’ at life in prison or a short drop, depending on what kinda mood the judge is in. It’s over for you. Unless you join us.” 

“Wha—join you?!” 

“Don’t act so surprised. You can’t talk big about your aim and be taken aback when someone wants to put it to use.”

“Y—you gotta be crazy! How’re you thinkin’ you can even trust me to not take you guys down from the inside? Yer mad!” 

“We’re plenty capable of keeping you in line. And Overwatch is a more extensive organization than you seem to realize. For being in a big gang, you don’t know much about the people against you.”

Jesse stared at him for a long moment.

“Yer actually askin’ me to join you guys?”

“Yes.”

“…what do you even do exactly?”

“Does it actually matter? It’s this or a noose, kid,” he almost growled the last part, growing impatient. “But we deal with criminals and people lookin’ to incite war, mostly.” 

“Fine job you’re doin’ when the country’s literally dividin’.”

The look he got wasn’t a pleasant one.

“And you actually want me to join.”

“First mission if you aren’t too much of an idiot is helping to take down the rest of Deadlock.”

“They ain’t gettin’ the same offer?”

“Easier to control one newcomer than a pack. Think Morrison would pop a blood vessel if I brought in more than one anyway. You’ve seemed the best candidate.”

Jesse thought over the proposal. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice. This sounded like it might be the sort of thing he was hoping for even, being able to get out of Deadlock. 

“So is your silence a yes or a no?” the man asked. 

“It’s a yes,” Jesse responded. The man looked pleased, and reached over to pull Jesse back to his feet. In an afterthought, Jesse added, “...on one condition.”

If looks could kill, Jesse might have been executed then and there. Before he could get a worse reaction, he leaned forward and gave a serious look except for a small smirk.

“You gotta gimme my hat back. Lost it in the fight.”

“Don’t get thinking you’re funny, McCree. And don’t go talking at your superiors,” the man warned as he motioned Jesse around the side of the building. 

“Uh-huh.”

Another glare.

“Yessir.” 

“Better. And the name’s Reyes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys see this coming or was it a surprise?  
> Either way, yay to more canon characters getting their time in the spotlight! I've enjoyed fitting in who I can.
> 
> (happy to hear any thoughts btw; I can get better with feedback)


	15. Jesse Gets Flipped-Turned Upside Down

Jesse’s mouth was parched. His stomach was still satisfied by the quick lunch that they had had earlier, but there was a feeling in his throat that he was all too familiar with that told him he was thirsty. On his horse with him were supplies, including a decent amount of water. But he decided to put off relieving his thirst for a while longer. Any time he stretched or gestured, eyes flicked onto him like a prairie dog family had spotted a potential predator. It was unnecessary considering these Overwatch people had decided against giving him back his revolver so soon into his induction. He wasn’t a reasonable threat when unarmed and surrounded by the group. But despite the lack of danger he posed to them, he didn’t want to come across like he was trying to ruffle any feathers. If staying still and mostly shutting up made them like him faster, then he could do that. The fact that he had joined them didn’t change the fact that they didn’t trust him yet. 

Morrison, the blond who somehow looked a little too prim and proper to be out here, rode ahead of Jesse at the front of the group. He raised a hand up in what looked like a greeting. 

“That’s two,” Jesse could just make out him saying lowly. After riding a little farther he was able to see two people riding up to meet them. They were both armed and looked eager to speak.

“No good news just yet, sir,” one of them said. They both slowed as they reached the group, and the rest made room for the newcomers to turn their horses around and match pace. One of the two newcomers eyed Jesse curiously before turning his attention away.

“There might be some there, but if so they’re well-hidden. There’s another pair that’ve gone the other direction. We’re tryin’ to see if Deadlock’s gone off. Most stayed at the town though. We got a rendezvous little way south of town. Figured that’d give them the rest of the day to poke around there.”

“Very well,” Morrison responded, “We found a few ourselves. They weren’t aware of our attack beforehand. We may have just been lucky if the rest are prepared like this… We’ll spread out and continue to scan the horizon for anyone as we move. We should have enough to split into three groups comfortably. Any group see trouble, fire to alert the others. You two take left, Reyes you lead ri—.” He paused, glancing back at Jesse. “Reyes, lead middle, I’ll take the right. No one spread out too far that you can’t see your team.” 

They divided the rest of the riders easily into the groups before beginning to fan out on the desert. Morrison’s orders had been very clear. Jesse was Reyes’ responsibility. Not trusting Jesse, it was the only reasonable option to keep him in the worst position for escape possible.

That was fine by Jesse. Reyes slowly fanned out with the rest of their little group once the others had ridden off to cover more ground. He had been riding behind Jesse before, and continued to stay that way, easily spotted with a quick glance behind. He was staying close. Jesse wouldn’t have a way out. He breathed in deeply and reached back for his water. That was fine. He would bide his time for the moment. He wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted to do about his situation anyway, so not being able to make a rushed decision didn’t sound so bad. 

 

******************************

 

The end of the stick Jesse was holding poked around a scrubby bush. The dry plant scraped against it. There was a fire lighting up the campsite that had been set up. The sun had passed under the horizon and the light of day was quickly making way for the stars to come out. It had been a long day of travel on top of the other long days that Jesse had had recently, and he was more than ready to lay down. But a little prodding around to make sure there weren’t critters, especially venomous ones, in nearby bushes seemed like a decent activity to finish first. It kept him out of everyone else’s way, and was something to occupy his time a while longer. He figured he shouldn’t go to bed first anyway; he didn’t want to come across as lazy. But even with the rest of Overwatch now reaching the camp on the opposite side of the fire, he was pretty sure he was more interested in getting sleep than hearing whatever news they had. It looked like he would have to face off against his own group at some point here. The mission was something to deal with tomorrow if possible. 

The several newly arrived members dismounted. Most began filling Morrison and the others who were bunching up in on what they had or hadn’t accomplished, while the others took care of the horses back from the camp where the rest of the small herd was. Jesse stepped slowly along the edge of camp still, poking around at desert plants. If he just kept looking awake a while longer, he could soon be getting some good shut eye. It’s not like they were going to trust him to keep watch at all during the night, he could get a full night of rest. 

“McCree!”

Jesse made a small noise in his throat akin to a grunt. Looking up, he saw Reyes giving him a hard stare and motioning him over. Jesse dropped the stick and moseyed around the blankets laid down and the fire in the middle of the camp. 

“Hey, Shimada,” Reyes called out behind himself back toward the horses once Jesse arrived. Shi—what? Immediately, a man stepped out from between two horses and walked over. His swift response to his summoning was noticeably more obedient than Jesse’s. Jesse couldn’t help but stare at the young man that joined them. His hair was dark, shaggy, and unkept. Jesse’s own got a little long sometimes, but he knew to run his fingers through it occasionally to keep it presentable. The man before him didn’t appear bothered by such things. He had a notable scar along his jaw, which would have been difficult to make presentable anyway. His movements had a sort of calculated grace to them, reminiscent of Hanzo’s. Even his gaze had a seriousness that resembled his brother’s. 

“This is Jesse McCree. He’s with us now. Keep an eye on him and help him learn how things work around here.”

It sounded a little odd hearing Reyes say that, he didn’t come across like the type to sugarcoat the fact that he was getting another pair of eyes to make sure McCree didn’t try anything. The young man gave a curt nod in response. 

“Help Genji get the horses ready for the night, McCree. Make yourself useful.”

Genji. It sounded weird to hear someone other than Hanzo say the name. 

“McCree,” came Reyes’ voice, harder.

“Yessir,” Jesse responded loudly. Genji turned and walked back to what he was doing, and after waking his knees up from the shock that ran through his body, Jesse followed. They set to work taking off bridles and saddles. Jesse let a couple minutes pass as he gathered his thoughts. Genji was right here. Genji, who Hanzo had been searching for for months, was right on the other side of this horse. He was actually alive, and not only alive but right in front of him. 

“Hey,” he spoke. It came out a touch uncertain, which wasn’t ideal for a first conversation with the long lost brother of the guy Jesse had quickly come to have a surprisingly strong attachment to. He wasn’t sure how to expect Genji to react. He looked like a far cry from the beaming young boy from the photograph. No matter, he was right here and Jesse needed to talk to him. 

“So…I know your brother, Hanzo. I do—,” was all that Jesse got out before Genji had vaulted himself over the horse and grabbed Jesse’s arm, swinging him unceremoniously over and slamming him into the ground with a hard thud. The stars growing in the night sky doubled for the next few seconds and Jesse sucked in a painful breath to refill his lungs. 

“Where is he?!” Genji demanded in an accent even heavier than his brother’s. He stepped on Jesse’s back to force him down and twisted his arm, which earned him a shouted string of cusses from Jesse rather than an answer. 

“Hey—,” came a voice from next to the campfire. 

“How do you know him? Who are you and where is he?!” Genji demanded again, a furious edge in his tone. 

Jesse heard a couple of guns click nearby. 

“What did he do?” Reyes demanded out of Jesse’s line of sight. 

Genji didn’t respond, only holding Jesse’s arm in place. 

“I didn’t do nothin’, so how ‘bout you shove off?!” Jesse yelled up at Genji.

“I’ll kill him,” Genji seethed. 

“Do not kill him, he just joined,” Reyes ordered.

Jesse had a bad angle for looking up at Genji, but he could see just well enough the rage in Genji’s glare. It wasn’t Jesse that Genji was threatening. 

“Shimada, what did he do?” Reyes asked again. 

“He knows my brother,” Genji responded angrily.

“Don’t bully him over that. They’re both criminals, right? It can’t be that surprising,” Morrison said from close by. “Stand down, Shimada.”

Genji kept his hold on Jesse, glaring daggers. 

“Genji,” came both Reyes’ and Morrison’s voice simultaneously. 

“Where,” Genji spoke heavily down at McCree. 

At that point, Jesse realized that the hard feelings Genji had been likely to have about his brother were too large and present and festering. He made a split-second decision that he hadn’t anticipated. 

“I. Don’t. Know,” he lied. Genji watched him, considering the claim. His chest rose and fell, emotion racing through him and building tension in his body. Reyes stepped forward and grabbed ahold of Genji’s shoulder. He relented his grasp on Jesse, who flopped over quickly as his arm fell. Relief washed through Jesse’s arm and torso despite a clear pain remaining. He cursed again as he sat up. 

“So what’s the problem here?” Reyes asked, looking between them. He still didn’t get what was going on. Genji must have mentioned his brother in some way, but there was no telling what the rest of the team knew on the situation. 

“I jus’ said I met his brother,” Jesse defended himself. 

“And you don’t know where he is?” Genji asked him accusingly.

“I don’t,” Jesse restated, lying through his teeth. 

“How’d you meet him?” Reyes questioned him. “If he’s still around, he’s bound to be after Genji’s head still.”

“He was passin’ through Hitchville moving east. It was ‘round two months ago, he’s long gone since,” Jesse spoke slowly, carefully piecing together what he could safely divulge. “He was searching for Genji, but he didn’t seem to be after him like that.”

That was simple enough. Maybe that would make Genji willing to reconsider his current situation with Hanzo.

“Then you do not know him,” Genji spoke bitterly.

Okay, maybe it didn’t work. Wishful thinking. Jesse couldn’t really blame him either. Hanzo had made quite the error in trying to kill Genji in the first place. But with the photograph and Hanzo describing his carefree little brother, Jesse had walked into this hoping Genji would be a little more forgiving. 

“Fine, if he’s long gone then he’s not our concern. Drop the issue. You two are both on this team now, so act like it,” Reyes said as he pulled Jesse up by his unharmed arm. 

“Jesse McCree,” Morrison cut in, indicating him to come over to where he was standing with the group of men closer to the fire. With another glance at Genji, he exited the one conversation to walk over into the next. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck prickle with the glare still being sent at him. The best thing at the moment would be to ignore it. 

“Yessir?” He asked. 

“They didn’t find anyone from Deadlock,” Morrison said bluntly. His gaze was piercing too, the guys in Overwatch apparently had that common trait. But his was more observant. He was carefully watching Jesse’s reaction. 

“…no one?” 

“No one. They had been there just recently, but were gone in time,” Morrison agreed. He allowed the silence to carry for a long moment before continuing. “We have been planning this takedown quite carefully and confidentially. How was Deadlock aware of what was coming?”

“I…honestly don’t have an answer. Boss—er, Sanchez had some kinda intel that someone was after us, but he kept goin’ off and doin’ his own stuff. He wasn’t fillin’ the rest of us in fully on what was happenin’. He coulda gotten word from someone in government? He bribed a mayor all the way in Missouri this one time, I know he’s got connections.” 

“…and where could the majority of Deadlock possibly be now?” 

“I…” Jesse scratched his head. If they had managed to move away from Overwatch in time, then Sanchez had been pretty well prepared for the attack after all. And being as careful as he was about what was going on, Jesse couldn’t see him going somewhere other than the hideout that had been specially prepared for this. Which meant that Overwatch hadn’t stopped them in time. Deadlock had a head start and was going to make it to where Hanzo was. 

And now, if they went after them, not only would that be bringing more people into the confusion there, but specifically Genji who had it out for Hanzo. Not just a group of outlaws who would be inclined to kill Hanzo on sight, but now a brother who was working with a government agency who wanted revenge. Hanzo’s chances of coming out of this whole situation safely were plummeting. 

“McCree?”

“Well…,” if he didn’t say anything, then that would be trouble on him. He was on thin ice, he needed to try to gain Morrison’s trust to get out of this alive himself. If they went after Deadlock, then at least Jesse would get to return and there would be one person other than Hanzo himself who was looking after Hanzo. They were a good team. They knew that and hadn’t wanted to split up in the first place. Jesse cursed quietly. “There’s this place Sanchez set up for the gang. It’s out of the way and not easy to stumble across. I don’t know where he’d be leadin’ everyone if not there. It ain’t too long a journey from here anyway, I reckon.”

“You know where this place is?”

“I’m not that familiar with this area, but I bet I can find it again, yeah.”

Morrison eyed Jesse for a moment. 

“Very well. Tomorrow morning you take us there. If you’re not leading us away from them, then you can stay.”

Stay. That was one way to say they wouldn’t kill him, Jesse supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who had a free day and got to write again finally?! I'm so happy to have gotten out another chapter. Thanks for being patient! I'm hopeful that it won't take that long for the next one because that was just a crazy long wait between chapters.  
> And happy Halloween guys, it's only a few days away! Still haven't gotten any of the new event skins yet. Can't say I'm surprised with how little I've been on to play though.


	16. 3D Vision: Red and Blue

Jesse nudged the brim of his hat just enough to peak up at a bird flying high in the sky. From the distance he couldn’t guess what kind it was. It rode the hot afternoon air peacefully, gliding in a smooth curving pattern. His eyes dropped down to the parched landscape ahead of him and the rest of the group. 

He hoped he was leading them the right way. He was decent with navigation and was pretty sure he was getting them to the town, but with his neck at stake there was the lingering worry in the back of his mind. The muttering from one of the Overwatch men behind him about him leading them away wasn’t helpful. 

“Would be going better if Lacroix had arrived out here. Man knows how to deal with this stuff. Thinking like the enemy.”

The name caught Jesse’s attention. Memories from the night on the train came to mind. He rubbed his fingers against the reins he was holding, feeling them free from the bandaging that they’d been imprisoned in for weeks. He rolled his lips abashedly and glanced back up at the bird flying far away. 

On the bright side, they had no way of guessing Jesse had something to do with Lacroix’s lack of appearance. If he just played ignorant to the train situation, then he shouldn’t have to admit to anything. The night on the train was related to Overwatch making a move on Sanchez, so if Jesse admitted to being involved in all that then they would likely jump to the conclusion that he was hiding Deadlock knowing more about their plans than they actually did. Or at least most of Deadlock hadn’t been aware of Overwatch’s actions. Jesse hadn’t understood fully what was going on at least, so he wasn’t keen on being accused of it. 

“McCree,” Jack Morrison said beside him thoughtfully.

Jesse’s face fell a fraction. How in the world could Morrison have guessed?! This guy was really something else.

“Yessir?” 

“How familiar are you with Sombra?”

“W—…,” Jesse’s brows scrunched up. That was a change of topic. “Who?”

“Sombra.”

“Don’t know anyone by that name.”

Morrison turned his attention back out in front on him. 

“Hm.”

“Who is Sombra?”

“…we don’t know,” Reyes picked up the conversation after it seemed Morrison wasn’t going to answer. “Some say it’s just one guy, some say it’s an organization. But whoever they are, they’ve been causing trouble. We were asked to look into it while out here on this Deadlock business.”

“Your gang has a large enough operation, I was hoping you would have something on Sombra,” Morrison reasoned. 

“He robbin’ an’ the like?”

“More infiltration and blackmail than anything. Stealing information.”

Jesse shook his head.

“If it ain’t dirty work, Deadlock ain’t usually keen.” 

“All that is dirty,” someone behind him said disapprovingly.

 

****************************

 

With a light grunt, Hanzo let go of the pieces of firewood and they clattered the last few inches to the floor. He stretched his back and relaxed the muscles he’d been using throughout the day. This wasn’t the life he had foreseen for himself, but that wasn’t going to stop him from getting by. He was entirely capable of doing that. 

He set a few pieces of wood in place and got a fire started. He straightened his tensing muscles back up and went out to rinse his hands from the pump and fill a bucket. It was all a little monotonous for his taste, filling the day with chores, but he hefted it inside and started prepping food for dinner. Evening had arrived and time was sure to pass quickly if he wasn’t careful. He needed to be done with the day in time to meditate. 

He was mindful of his responsibilities, a lifetime of training had made him so, but it was still an adjustment to be caring for everything himself again. Jesse had made some things considerably easier. 

Hanzo had been weary of him for good reason, and Jesse had not been the sort of companion he would generally be interested in having. He was talkative and tried to show off and wasn’t always the most mature sort of person. But he’d be lying to himself if he thought that Jesse hadn’t been good to have around. Perhaps not now, he had brought in some interesting trouble and was dealing with that. Hanzo didn’t know if he would even return or what was now going on that he may have to deal with in some way himself, while living here. But at least during his stay in this town with Hanzo, he had been a lot of things that Hanzo had needed at the time. 

Jesse had been someone who was open to making a new friend, as well as someone who seemed to be happy to be relied on. Hanzo had recently left his entire life behind in search of the one part he realized too late was really worth everything, so befriending someone local to this new country had given him a sort of emotional relief that lessened the pain he felt. 

Was friendship the right word to be describing them? Hanzo’s brow furrowed as he kneaded dough. He pushed away the memory of Jesse’s profession during his departure. He may have relied on Jesse for emotional support a little too much. He was surprised at himself and not sure what to think about his fast reliance on the intimacy between them once it started. Jesse was the confident, untamed type of man that Hanzo admittedly (to himself, not anyone else) had a thing for, but that shouldn’t have let him fall into whatever it was they had the way he did. He had thought he was in a more stable place before, but after how things with Jesse progressed he had begun to realize how uncertain he felt about—everything. 

Having some sort of relationship with an American thief? Hardly an action the clan would have allowed, or Hanzo himself. But with his world decimated along with the rules that went with it, he found himself unsure of some lines that had never been crossed, and Jesse’s easy nature had eased him across one. 

He spared a moment from his food preparation to watch his dragon companion phase through the back wall. It paused to look up at him before meandering down the hall. 

He was lucky to still have their companionship. Their bond was through Hanzo’s family line, and after severing his ties he wasn’t sure whether he would still be able to summon them. But his blood was still connected to them, and that proved more important. He was grateful for that. They had been vital so far in his search for Genji. They were also a reminder of home, or what had once been home, and served as a small comfort in this new land. They certainly weren’t emotional support otherwise. They were willing to aid him, but they were ancient spirits with little interest in the lives of mortals, so Jesse’s presence had easily overshadowed their cool attitudes. 

Hanzo resumed his work once the dragon went by, but after another minute he stopped again, hands pausing in the middle of portioning out the dough. He was facing down to the counter, but his eyes were distant, paying close attention for something he had just heard. 

He heard it again. Hooves. Someone was here. His mind shot back to Jesse. He rubbed his hands on his pants in embarrassing haste and stepped away from the counter toward the front door. When he got halfway down the hall he froze again. There was more than one set of hooves making noise. And distant voices. It was a group of people. Hanzo whipped around and hurried back through the kitchen. He lifted the bucket up and sloshed enough water into the stove fire to douse the flame, and grabbed his bow and quiver on his way out the back door. 

Outside he headed around the backs of the nearby buildings. They sounded close, but not in the immediate vicinity. He glanced around a wall and saw no one. The sun was beginning to set. Whoever these people were, they were definitely going to want to stay the night. He eyed the side of the next building over. He adjusted the bow and quiver strap on him before taking a running start at the wall. His foot touched down on it and he boosted himself upward, hands silently hitting the wall as he scaled it. He grasped the edge of the roof and pulled himself over it with more effort than he would have liked. His short nights due to looking for Genji and the mental exhaustion that using his dragon’s magic in an abnormal way caused had had an impact on him. 

But it worked out still, because no one had seen his ascent. He crawled over to the front of the building and carefully lifted his head just enough to see over the ledge. 

The sizable brigade that was just down the street was intimidating. Hanzo breathed out slowly. The men were all gathered around, a few already dismounted. With the setting sun, Hanzo could still easily make out the glint from a couple of guns, and the shapes of many more. They were crowded around a mean looking man on a horse. Despite the distance there was still an apparent hardness in his stare. 

Whoever these people were, they meant trouble. 

On the other side of the street, the dragon slid between two buildings. Hanzo gritted his teeth. As helpful as the dragons had been, they could be very aggressive toward strangers, and the way it was bearing its teeth suggested it wasn’t in a mood for taking so many outsiders lightly. Unsure of what people he was dealing with, Hanzo wasn’t inclined to act rashly, or to let his dragon. So he dispelled his companion from the world of the living before it revealed itself to the intruders.

Hanzo scooted back down and away from the edge of the roof. He carefully took the bow and quiver from around his body and set them down next to him on the roof, before laying down flat against the surface. The sky above him was lit up in beautiful oranges and reds. This was a tricky situation. If the people came a little closer perhaps he could hear what was being said. But they were spread out just enough he didn’t think switching rooftops would go unnoticed for the time being. He would just have to wait and see what opportunities arose. 

He focused on relaxing his sore muscles one by one. It helped him to settle down despite his nerves. He adjusted his position again to rest while he considered his options and noticed a poke at his hip. He felt around for his pocket and slipped a hand in, finding the cool metal of Jesse’s harmonica.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genji gets no love this chapter. Just picture him stewing in angst in the back of the group.


End file.
